adminNATO-led ISAF said in a statement issued yesterday.
The statement ruled out involvement of Taliban and other insurgent groups in the incident, saying”the cause of the crash is under investigation, however, initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the incident.”
The statement gave neither the nationalities of the victims nor the details about the incident under the ISAF policy.
However, an AFP report says five of the dead are US troops who were fighting Islamist insurgents in southern Afghanistan.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) did not release the nationality of casualties, but a Western military official who declined to be named confirmed that the victims were all US forces personnel.
“The cause of the crash is under investigation. However, initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time,” ISAF said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, the Kandahar provincial government in a statement released to the media said the chopper crashed in Kandahar province.
“A coalition Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Daman district lying in eastern part of provincial capital Kandahar city at around 11 p.m. local time Monday.”
The statement added that the weather in the crash area was poor.
The incident took place hours after an apparent insider attack claimed the lives of two US soldiers and three Afghan policemen in eastern Wardak province 35 km west of Kabul. – Xinhua/AFP.
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