Fourteen people were killed on Friday, including twelve Turkish soldiers, as a Turkish NATO helicopter crashed into a house on the outskirts of the Afghan capital.

Fourteen people were killed on Friday, including twelve Turkish soldiers, as a Turkish NATO helicopter crashed into a house on the outskirts of the Afghan capital.

Two Afghan civilians were among the casualties of the attack which was considered Ankara's deadliest incident in the war-torn country.

The bodies of two women were recovered from the rubble after the crash in Bagrami district, in the east of the capital, the local interior ministry told Agence France Press, correcting an earlier death toll.

Police and local residents were digging to find survivors, ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

The Turkish military said 12 of its soldiers were killed when the Sikorsky helicopter came down at 10:25 am (0555 GMT).

“We are investigating the cause of the crash but there were no reports of insurgent activity in the area," he said.
Kabul CID chief Mohammad Zaher said the final death toll was "12 Turkish nationals onboard the chopper plus two Afghan civilians living in the residential house".
The Afghan interior ministry said a boy was also wounded.

Turkey currently has around 1,800 soldiers serving in the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, deployed in Kabul, neighboring province Wardak in the north.

In October, Turkey extended by another year its Kabul regional command of the ISAF. Unlike its European allies, Turkey's mission is limited to patrols and its troops do not take part in combat operations.