Iran Press/ Africa: The Pakistani army says several of its soldiers were killed when a UN peacekeeping helicopter crashed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday night.
The bodies of the peacekeepers have been taken to Goma and an investigation was underway into the circumstances of the crash, the United Nations said in a statement.They included six crew members from the Pakistani military and two military personnel - one from Russia and one from Serbia, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, said in a statement. Pakistan's army said that all eight people had died, and gave the names of the pilot and crew. Pakistan has deployed an aviation unit to the U.N. mission in Congo since 2011, it said.
The Congolese army says rebels in the country's east shot the aircraft down.
The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission when it went down in the area of Tshanzu, in North Kivu province, where there have been clashes this week between the Congolese army and a rebel group known as the M23. 219
