A military helicopter crashed in northwestern Pakistan's Orakzai tribal agency on Friday, killing at least 26 security personnel on board, local TV reported.

Pakistani army spokesman Athar Abbas said the helicopter suffered technical faults and crashed on the Orakzai-Khyber border, 20 kilometers off Peshawar, the capital city of the North West Frontier Province.

Quoting official sources, the private Geo television reported that the MI-17 helicopter came down in Orakzai tribal region.

"There is no operation in Orakzai. It was flying over from a destination in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and going back to Peshawar," Abbas was quoted as saying.

Government sources said detailed probe was underway and an investigation team of Pakistan army has been dispatched to probe the incident.

Pakistan has been pressing a two-month battle to dislodge militants in three districts of the northwest and has waged air raids in South Waziristan in the tribal belt to lay the groundwork for a second front against the Taliban.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2009)