By Emeka Blast 
Pak Army Helicopter Reportedly Shot Down by Pashtun Militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Pashtun fighters reportedly shot down a Pakistan Army Aviation Corps Eurocopter AS-550C-3 Fennec helicopter in Pakistan-administered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, escalating tensions in the restive province. Social media posts on X, including from @IndiaWarZone and @GallopingMo, claim the helicopter was targeting Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters when it was hit, with unverified reports of six casualties. The incident, which lacks official confirmation from Pakistan’s military, has sparked intense online debate under hashtags like #TTP and #KhyberPakhtunkhwa.
The alleged attack follows a surge in insurgent activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the TTP and other groups have intensified operations against Pakistani forces. A post by @RealWahidaAFG claimed Pashtun fighters used a shoulder-fired missile, though no evidence was provided. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has not commented, but a senior military official dismissed similar claims in 2022 as “propaganda” when Baloch insurgents claimed to have downed a helicopter. The region, bordering Afghanistan, has seen frequent clashes, with a June 2025 suicide attack in North Waziristan killing 13 soldiers.
The lack of credible reports, as seen in past misattributions of helicopter crash videos, urges caution. A 2024 video falsely linked to Afghan forces downing a Pakistani chopper was debunked as showing a 2016 Kurdish attack on a Turkish helicopter. X users like @Drkiranjpatel and @Indian242242 amplified the story, but without verified footage or official statements, the incident remains unconfirmed. The region’s history of insurgency, including the TTP’s 2007 attacks on military outposts, underscores ongoing security challenges.
