Seven American, 4 NATO troops die in Afghan helicopter crash

NATO said it is investigating the cause of the?crash?in Kandahar province, a region that is a traditional Taliban stronghold.

By Heidi Vogt and Kay Johnson,?Associated Press / August 16, 2012

A Black Hawk?helicopter?crash?in southern Afghanistan killed 11 people on Thursday morning, including seven American troops and four Afghans, the NATO military coalition said. A Taliban spokesman claimed the insurgents shot down the aircraft.

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NATO said it is investigating the cause of the?crash?in Kandahar province, a region that is a traditional Taliban stronghold. The coalition had no immediate comment on the insurgents' claim that they shot down thehelicopter.

Among the dead were seven American service members, three members of Afghan security forces and one Afghan civilian interpreter, said Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the coalition.

He said the aircraft was a UH-60 Black Hawk but declined to give any details of the aircraft's mission

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said insurgent fighters shot down the?helicopter?in Kandahar province on Thursday morning.

"Nobody survived this," Ahmadi told The Associated Press by phone.

The?helicopter?went down in Kandahar's Shah Wali Kot district, which lies in the northern part of the province, a spokesman for the provincial government said.

"We don't know if it was shot down by the Taliban, or if it had mechanical problems," said the spokesman, Ahmad Jawed Faisal.

Thursday's?crash?is the deadliest since a Turkish?helicopter?crashed?into a house near the Afghan capital, Kabul, on March 16, killing 12 Turkish soldiers on board and four Afghan civilians on the ground, officials said.

In August last year, insurgents shot down a Chinook?helicopter, killing 30 American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs, in Afghanistan's central Wardak province.

At least 221 American service members have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/3zcdqGJo8BM/Seven-American-4-NATO-troops-die-in-Afghan-helicopter-crash

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