Algeria: helicopter crash kills at least 12 soldiers

At least 12 Algerian soldiers were killed and two others injured when a military helicopter crashed in the south of the country, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The transport helicopter type Mi-171 troops Algerian Air Force crashed during a reconnaissance mission near Reggane in the Adrar region (1,400 km south of Algiers) “following a technical failure,” the ministry said in a statement.

Military helicopter crash kills Algerian soldiers – https://t.co/p7kCsDYtJu #Algeria

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 28, 2016

Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah has ordered an investigation into the crash.

Algeria has a bad history of such flight crashes involving their military.

In December 2012, two military aircrafts had collided in flight during training in Tlemcen, in the extreme western Algeria, killing the pilot.

In February 2014, the crash of a military plane in eastern Algeria had 77 dead.

In October 2014, a plane from the Algerian air force crashed in the south during training, killing two soldiers who were on board.