Taliban Black Hawk down in Kabul

A Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Kabul on Saturday, killing three Afghan crew members, the Taliban's defense ministry said.

Unverified footage posted on social media showed the helicopter flying at a low altitude when its nose dipped suddenly, before crashing into the ground, sending pieces of the aircraft flying.

The ministry said five others were wounded in the incident which they described as a training flight.

"An American Black Hawk helicopter, which was flown ... for training, crashed due to a technical problem inside the campus of the National Defence University," said the Ministry of Defence spokesperson Enaytullah Khowrazmi.

US military equipment left behind when Taliban seized power

Between 2002 and 2017, the United States transferred over $28 billion worth of defense articles and services to the Afghan government, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, night-vision devices, aircraft, and surveillance systems, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

Some of the aircraft were flown into neighboring Central Asian countries by fleeing Afghan forces when the US-backed Afghan government collapsed in August last year. The Taliban inherited the left-over aircraft.

US troops also destroyed more than 70 aircraft and dozens of armored vehicles and disabled air defense systems before flying out of Kabul's airport during a chaotic evacuation operation.

Earlier this year, the Taliban said they repaired some of those aircraft.

Many Afghan Air Force pilots trained and fought alongside Americans but fled the country during the Taliban takeover.

Some pilots, mechanics, and other specialists from the former Afghan National Army were, however integrated into the Taliban's security forces.

lo/kb (AP, Reuters)