Army copter crash kills 26 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A Pakistani army helicopter crashed in a northwestern tribal area that is a Taliban stronghold Friday, killing at least 26 Pakistani soldiers and paramilitary fighters.

The military said the helicopter had technical problems, and several Pakistani security officials said it was carrying too many people, but Dawn TV reported that local officials said insurgents had shot it down. One security official also said weather might have contributed to the crash.

The security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that although the official number of those killed was 26, 41 people had died.

The Pakistani military has lost many troops in offensives against the Taliban, and the crash — which the authorities said killed three officers — is grim news for the army whether militants were involved or not. It comes as the military is locked in renewed struggle with the Taliban and is preparing for a full-scale offensive in South Waziristan.

Earlier in the day, several residents in South Waziristan reported what they said was an attack on a militant-training camp by a U.S. drone that killed at least 13 people.

A Pakistani intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the attack in Mazarai Narai but said eight people had died.

The residents, who were reached by phone and who requested anonymity because of security concerns, said most of the dead appeared to be militants.

The United States routinely withholds comment on suspected drone attacks; there have been at least 40 since August.

Much of South Waziristan is controlled by forces loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, a Taliban leader accused of masterminding some of the deadliest suicide attacks in Pakistan in recent years.

A government official said the aircraft that was lost Friday was a transport helicopter. Helicopter gunships have been shelling the area over the past several weeks.