Insurgents down Afghan military chopper, 9 killed

KABUL, Afghanistan

Nine security personnel were killed when a military helicopter was shot down in central Afghanistan, officials said Thursday.

Insurgents allegedly affiliated with Shia militia leader Ali Pur shot down the helicopter in the Behsud district of central Maidan Wardak province on Wednesday evening, said Sharifullah Hotak, a member of the provincial council.

The Defense Ministry in Kabul confirmed the deaths and stated that an investigation has been initiated.

Ali Pur, a self-proclaimed armed leader of the local Shiite-Hazara group, was released by the government last year on the condition that he will not cause unrest in the province. The members of the community have not commented on the incident.

Separately, at least three Afghan government employees were killed and over 10 injured when a roadside bomb targeting a minibus in Kabul exploded on Thursday morning rush hours, Kabul police command spokesman Firdaus Faramarz told Anadolu Agency.

He said police have launched an investigation into the bombing in the northern Kotal Kher Khana neighborhood.

Earlier on March 15, five civilians were killed, including four women -- one of them pregnant -- and a child, in a similar explosion in the city that targeted a bus carrying employees from two government ministries.