By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Dushanbe : At least 27 people were killed Wednesday when a military helicopter crashed in the mountainous Rasht Valley in eastern Tajikistan, a police source said.
About 20 members of elite units of the Alpha National Security State Committee and seven members of the National Guard, including a colonel and two lieutenant colonels, were killed in the accident, the source said.
The Mi-8 helicopter crashed due to technical reasons, the National Guard said.
Tajik security forces launched an operation against insurgents in the Rasht region two weeks ago following the deaths of 26 servicemen in an attack on a military convoy Sep 19. Fourteen soldiers were injured in the ambush.
Since the operation began, 15 militants have been killed.