7 Soldiers Die in Downed Copter 5 Americans Reported Among 7 Killed When Helicopter Apparently Shot

May 31, 07:39 AM

Current Headlines: By JASON STRAZIUSO

By JASON STRAZIUSO

The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan - Five Americans and two other soldiers died when a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down Wednesday evening in Afghanistan's most volatile province, a U.S. military official said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said other troops rushing to the scene were ambushed and had to call in air support to drive off their attackers.

Initial reports suggested the helicopter was hit with a rocket- propelled grenade, said the U.S. official, who insisted on speaking anonymously because the crash was still under investigation. NATO said there were no survivors.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said in a phone call to The Associated Press that militants shot the helicopter down in southern Helmand province. Combat has been heavy in recent months in the region, the largest opium poppy-growing area in the world.

Ahmadi did not offer any proof for his claim, but he specified the helicopter crashed in the Kajaki district hours before NATO reported that information. Kajaki is the site of a hydroelectric dam and the scene of recent fighting.

NATO said the CH-47 Chinook was carrying a crew of five and two military passengers when it crashed. The cause was "being determined by military officials," it said. The nationality of the two dead soldiers was not released.

NATO said troops going to the crash site were ambushed by enemy fighters and the unit called in an airstrike "to eliminate the enemy threat." It did not say whether the troops were from the U.S.-led coalition, NATO's force or the Afghan army. One civilian was injured by gunfire.

The CH-47 Chinook, a heavy transport helicopter with two rotors, can carry some 40 soldiers plus a small crew.

The fact that it was flying at night suggested the aircraft might have been carrying troops on a nighttime air assault.

Kajaki is the site of a large U.S.-funded hydroelectric dam being repaired so it can provide electricity to the southern city of Kandahar.

British troops, who make up the bulk of the forces in Helmand province, have been engaged in fierce fighting around the dam, protecting it.

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