RAF crew killed in Kabul helicopter crash

KABUL: Two British airmen were among five killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan as their Puma helicopter crashed at NATO headquarters in Kabul on Sunday.

Another RAF crew member was among five injured in the crash.

The British Ministry of Defence ruled out sabotage or an Taliban attack; according to witnesses the aircraft hit a surveillance balloon which caused the crash.

The helicopter “hit the cable of the security balloon over the base, It seemed like the cable was turned around the helicopter rotor," an eyewitness told AP.

The deaths of personnel from the RAF’s 230 and 33 Squadrons are the first to strike British troops in Afghanistan since their combat mission in Helmand ended last year

Around 500 British troops remain in Kabul, helping train Afghan officer cadets, providing a security force for the capital and joining US special forces operations.