An army helicopter carrying senior officials has crashed in bad weather in the western Farah province, killing all 25 on board.
Mohammad Naser Mehri, spokesman for the Farah governor, said the helicopter crashed around 9:10 a.m. (0440 GMT), shortly after taking off from the mountainous Anar Dara district heading toward the nearby Herat province.
On board were the corps commander, Gen. Naimudullah Khalil, and two members of the Farah provincial council, its chairman, Farid Bakhtawar, and Jamila Amini, one of only two women on the nine-member council.
Earlier today, A suicide bomber had blown himself up near the gate of Afghanistan’s largest prison, killing at least seven people and wounding three, officials say, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
