NATO Copter Crashes in Afghanistan, Killing All 7 Aboard

A NATO helicopter on a night mission crashed late yesterday in southern Afghanistan, killing all seven service members aboard in what officials believe was a coordinated attack in an area known for aggressive Taliban fighting.

The helicopter, a dual-rotor CH-47 Chinook capable of carrying more than 40 people, went down in Helmand province near Kajaki, a NATO International Security Assistance Force spokesman said. NATO officials said it was unclear what caused the helicopter to crash, but Taliban officials asserted responsibility for shooting it down.

NATO officials did not identify which country the helicopter belonged to, but U.S. officials told the Associated Press that five U.S. soldiers were killed. Military officials said the two others were soldiers from Britain and Canada, AP reported.

Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for the security force, said by telephone from Afghanistan that all five crew members and both passengers -- all of whom were assigned to the NATO force -- were killed in the crash.

Thomas said soldiers who attempted to get to the crash site were also attacked in the Kajaki area, a mountainous region that has been the scene of frequent clashes between NATO and Taliban forces.

"A unit responding to the scene was ambushed by enemy fighters," Thomas said, indicating a coordinated attack. "Under continued fire, they had to call for an airstrike to eliminate the threat."

An Afghan civilian who was injured by small-arms fire in the fighting was rescued and evacuated, Thomas said.

Pentagon spokesmen and U.S. officials in Afghanistan referred calls to the International Security Assistance Force.

Yesterday's crash was the 13th deadly helicopter incident involving U.S. troops since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and, if it is confirmed that five U.S. soldiers died, would bring the U.S. death toll in such crashes to nearly 75. A Chinook crash in Afghanistan in February killed eight U.S. troops, and a Chinook crash in May 2006 killed 10.

Helmand province is at the center of the struggle for control of Afghanistan because it is a prime opium poppy-growing region that feeds the illicit drug trade. Also, it has a weak local government and is home to Taliban hard-liners. Kajaki, about 275 miles southwest of Kabul, is a focus of NATO forces because of a large hydroelectric dam that officials hope could provide power to much of the region when repairs are completed.

Local officials in recent months have said the situation in Helmand is out of control, while NATO officials have vowed to step up anti-Taliban operations. Ambush attacks on first-responders to a crash, such as the one yesterday, mirror similar complex attacks seen recently in Iraq.

Staff researcher Robert E. Thomason contributed to this report.