TWELVE TURKISH soldiers and two children have died after the military helicopter crashed into a building close to Kabul in Afghanistan this morning.

The Turkish military says that the group was on a International Security Assistance Force mission for NATO when it crashed.

Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the helicopter appeared to have crashed while making an emergency landing, and an Afghan witness said he saw the aircraft clip one building before crashing into a second.

Two young girls were killed on the ground and another child and woman were injured. All of those on board the helicopter died.

ISAF has said in a statement that an investigation has been launched into the attack, but preliminary reports suggest “there was no enemy activity in the area at the time”.

Today’s crash was the deadliest for NATO troops in Afghanistan since a US helicopter was apparently shot down in August, killing 30 soldiers.

Footage from the scene shows the charred remains of the helicopter lying around and below the scorched building it struck:

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(Video via AssociatedPress)

- Additional reporting by the AP