US delivers 30 military helicopters, including Cobras, to Pakistan

The United States made deliveries of 30 military helicopters on Oct. 22 to key ally Pakistan in order "to help fight extremism and provide humanitarian relief in the region,"officials said.

US Ambassador Anne Patterson handed over the aircraft during a ceremony with defence secretary, Kamran Rasool, at an aviation base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the military said.

According to Patterson, Pakistan''s army aviation personnel were assets to "to our combined effort to fight extremism and bring peace and stability to the region."

"This event demonstrates the continued commitment of the United States to cooperate with Pakistan," she said.

Rasool said the 26 new Bell-412 and four refurbished Cobra helicopters "will significantly enhance" the military''s "operational capabilities".

As part of a $235 million project, Pakistan leased the Bell-412 helicopters from the US, which provided the resources and manpower training to run them, the US embassy said.

The director general of army aviation, Major General Syed Taqi Naseer Rizvi, said the helicopters "would go a long way in helping fortify the country''s capability to effectively combat the menace of terrorism."

The US in February this year had delivered an earlier lot of eight Cobra attack helicopters.