Indonesia rules out militant strike on army helicopter crash

Indonesian military have ruled out the possibility of terrorist strikes as the cause of an army helicopter crash Sunday in Poso of Sulawesi that killed all 13 military men on board, military spokesman said here Monday.

The accident occurred in a secured location near an airport, Colonel Berlin G. spokesman of the military said.

"Military commander has stressed that the cause of the accident is poor weather condition. Besides, it did not occur in an area vulnerable on militant attacks. It was close to the airport," he told Xinhua by phone.

He said the ongoing investigation will also find out the possibility of other factors triggering the accident, such as engine failure.

The Bell 412 EP chopper went down at 17:55 p.m. local time in Kasiguncu village of Poso on Sunday when it was conducting its routine task, Colonel I Made Sutia, spokesman of the military command in Sulawesi province has told Xinhua via phone.

Berlin said a team has been dispatched to the scene to investigate the crash and efforts to look for the black box of the chopper are under way now.

Poso is where Indonesian police and military have been conducting military operations to pursue the country's most-wanted high profile terrorist figure Santoso. Endit