Pakistani military helicopter crashes, 26 dead

By Augustine Anthony

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani military helicopter crashed in the northwest of the country on Friday killing all 26 security personnel on board, officials said, ahead of a planned army offensive against a Taliban militant chief.

The helicopter crashed because of a technical fault about 20 km (12 miles) from the city of Peshawar on the mountainous border of the Orakzai and Khyber ethnic Pashtun tribal regions, the official said.

Pakistani soldiers have been fighting Taliban militants in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, for two months and have stepped up pressure on Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, in his South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border.

"An MI-17 helicopter crashed due to technical fault, a military official who declined to be identified said, adding that 26 security personnel had been killed.

All those on board had been killed, said another military official.

Pakistan's civilian government has said it is determined to fight militancy and defeat Mehsud and his followers.

The army action followed an alarming expansion of Taliban influence and aggression in the northwest.

U.S. officials have welcomed the offensive after earlier voicing fears about Pakistan's stability and the safety of its nuclear arsenal.