Taliban Allegedly Use Russian SAM-7B Anti-Aircraft MissileTo Hit Pakistani Helicopter

Pakistani Taliban on Sunday released a video showing a Russian surface-to-Air Missile (SAM-7B) allegedly used to down Mi-17 army helicopter in PoK that killed seven including two ambassadors.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed that the chopper was turning due to which the missile hit the tail rotor of the helicopter so it did not get destroyed fully in the air.

The written message during the video claimed that the missile was fired from a distance of 3 kilometers to down the helicopter on Friday. The Russian SAM-7 Model or SAM-7 B can hit a target up to a distance of 3 kilometres.

Norwegian envoy Leif H Larsen and Domingo D Lucenario Jr of the Philippines were killed along with the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors, besides two army pilots and a Pakistani crew member after the helicopter crashed.

The Taliban had claimed responsibility for the downing of the chopper and said premier Nawaz Sharif was their target. “The helicopter was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile, killing pilots and many foreign ambassadors,” TTP’s main spokesman Muhammad Khorasani had claimed after the crash.

Pakistan Army, however, ruled out the possibility of any terrorist or subversive activity in the crash and said the chopper crashed due to a technical fault while landing.

Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry yesterday rejected the Taliban claim, saying initial probe showed engine failure caused the mishap.