Pak Taliban releases video of SAM-7; warns of more attacks
12 May 2015 5:29 AM IST
Pakistani Taliban on Sunday released a video showing its militants with a surface-to-air missile which it claimed was used to bring down an army helicopter in the PoK that killed seven people including two ambassadors.
A video released by a jihadist media forum shows at least four masked militants with the surface-to-air missile (SAM-7 B) allegedly used in hitting the Mi-17 that crashed in Naltar valley of Gilgit-Baltisitan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In a written message in Urdu just at the start of the video, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan 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 message 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.
The SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based website that monitors extremist groups, also put video on its website.
“God willing, we will carry out (more) such attacks,” a Taliban statement said today.
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.
“A special group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had prepared a special plan to target Nawaz Sharif during his visit but he survived because he was travelling in another helicopter,” he had said.
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.
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry yesterday rejected the Taliban claim, saying initial probe showed engine failure caused the mishap.
“No matter if the Pakistani government accepts it or not, it doesn’t bother us,” the Taliban statement said.
Foreign delegations in Pak to take back bodies
Delegations from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Norway today reached Pakistan to take back the bodies of their nationals, including 2 ambassadors, killed in an army helicopter crash in the PoK.
A forensic team from Norway also arrived in the capital on the request of the Pakistan government to assist in DNA sampling, the foreign office said. The team was accompanied by Norwegian delegation which is here to receive its ambassador’s body.
Envoys of the Philippines and Norway and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors were among seven persons killed when Mi-17 helicopter, carrying 12 foreigners, crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan area in the north on May 8.
Two army pilots and a Pakistani crew member were also killed in the crash.
According to Foreign Office spokesperson, a seven-member delegation from the Philippines, five-member from Indonesia, three from Malaysia and five-member delegation from Norway reached Islamabad on Sunday.
Next Story
