Eighteen people including three Northern Alliance commanders died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan's northeastern Takhar province, a report said Sunday.
The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said the alliance helicopter came down near the town of Farkhar on Saturday evening. The cause of the crash was not reported.
It said the dead included commander Mohammad Mustafa, a guard for late alliance military chief Ahmad Shah Masood, plus commanders Arbab Mohammad Hashim and Mirza Ghulan Nasri from the dominant Pashtun community.
The report quoted a spokesman for the Northern Alliance but it has not been independently confirmed -- AFP
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