District Governor of Azra of Logar Province, Hameed Khan said that they were detained by the Taliban.
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Militants set the Mi-17 transport helicopter on fire and took the six crew to a Taliban-controlled area after it made an emergency landing in Logar province on Thursday, local authorities said.
Aup of 12 Western tourists traveling by bus in Afghanistan were ambushed and attacked by the Taliban, reportedly injuring at least six people, including five tourists and the driver.
The Army chief on Thursday night also called Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General Nicolson and asked him to help in the recovery of the helicopter crew.
“Afghan President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard”, tweeted General Asim Bajwa, the Pakistani military’s spokesman on Friday.
Meanwhile, all seven crew members survived the crash.
Six people, including a Russian national, aboard were taken hostage by the Taliban as the helicopter landed in Logar province while on its way to Russia via Uzbekistan for fix and maintenance, Xinhua news agency reported.
The ministry said Pakistan had sought permission to fly a helicopter, being sent to Russian Federation for overhauling, over Afghan air space.
The latest attack follows a Taliban truck bombing on Monday at a hotel for foreigners in Kabul, which triggered a seven-hour gun and grenade assault that highlighted growing insecurity in the city.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the convoy was on its way from the scenic Bamiyan province in central Afghanistan to the city of Herat when it came under attack. It is a small group of foreigns that are not scared by the Taliban, who rarely attacks tourist in its country. Ambassador Manzoor ul Haq says it is in line with the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to help the expatriate Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia.
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The $300m was not released because Ashton Carter, the USA secretary of defence, decided against making a certification “that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network”, Adam Stump, Pentagon spokesperson, said on Wednesday.
