US- NATO chopper shot down in Afghanistan's Kapisa province

[ghundal]

This is breaking news from Press TV with the title: BREAKING NEWS NATO chopper crashes in Afghanistan's Kapisa province

Will update when more is known. The story has not developed yet, but I assume they are writing it.

http://presstv.com/detail/176214.html

NATO chopper crashes in Afghanistan
Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:13AM
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A helicopter used by the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan crashed in the northeastern province of Kapisa. (file photo)
A helicopter used by the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan has crashed in the northeastern province of Kapisa, as the attacks against US-led troops surge in the war-torn country.


The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in statement on Saturday that the NATO chopper crashed in Afghanistan's Kapisa province, some 65 kilometers north of the capital city Kabul, Xinhua reported.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the incident.

The ISAF statement said the helicopter suffered a hard landing in Alah Say district, without providing more details.

In February, at least two NATO pilots were injured after a helicopter belonging to the US-led foreign forces crashed in Afghanistan's eastern district of Lateh Band near the capital Kabul.

In October 2010, a cargo plane carrying supplies for US-led forces in Afghanistan crashed into the mountains near Kabul, killing all nine crew members onboard.

In a similar incident, nine US soldiers were killed in a chopper crash in September.

2010 was the bloodiest year of the brewing conflict in Afghanistan, with casualties steadily soaring among both civilians and foreign troops, mainly due to a rise in Taliban attacks.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said in January that he sees an increase in bloodshed in Afghanistan, as foreign soldiers begin to fire up their offensive against the Taliban elements.

"The violence will be worse in 2011 than it was in 2010 in many parts of Afghanistan," said the senior US military commander.

Some 150,000 NATO troops are currently fighting in war-torn Afghanistan, with plans to stay in the country beyond 2014.

[Marwan El Tounisi]

Assalamou alykoum wa RahmatAllah,


I am from Tunisia and I wished to tell all my Pashtuns brothers and sisters that we Tunisians love you in Allah, you're the greatest people on earth the purest and the bravest!

I wish Arabs could have you strenght and determination.

Insh Allah, Arabs will rise again and help you to drive the kafir out of your lands.

You destroyed all empire,be proud and be strong!

[ghundal]

NATO: Coalition helicopter crashes in Afghanistan - San Jose Mercury News



NATO: Coalition helicopter crashes in Afghanistan

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press
Posted: 04/22/2011 11:03:03 PM PDT


KABUL, Afghanistan—A coalition helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, but both crew members have been recovered alive, NATO said. No further details have been disclosed about the crash, which is under investigation.
Aziz Rahman Tawab, acting provincial governor in Kapisa province, said the helicopter crashed into a mountain.
Information about the mission of the helicopter at the time of the crash has not been released.
Aircraft are used extensively in Afghanistan by both NATO and the Afghan government forces to transport and supply troops because the terrain is mountainous and roads are few and primitive.
In September 2010, nine American troops were killed in a helicopter crash in a rugged area of Zabul province in southern Afghanistan. That was the worst helicopter crash for the coalition since May 2006 when a Chinook helicopter went down while attempting a nighttime landing on a small mountaintop in eastern Kunar province, killing 10 U.S. troops.

[Nokia_Apridy]

Assalamou alykoum wa RahmatAllah,


I am from Tunisia and I wished to tell all my Pashtuns brothers and sisters that we Tunisians love you in Allah, you're the greatest people on earth the purest and the bravest!

I wish Arabs could have you strenght and determination.

Insh Allah, Arabs will rise again and help you to drive the kafir out of your lands.

You destroyed all empire,be proud and be strong!

da love bravest da greatset da zna sra kegda da

shezono khu mung daga yu KHAWRO ta Rawastalo.....


nu da chay pa Khbaro na GHULGU.....keep ur good wishes with u

in ur pocket

[ghundal]

AP-Afghanistan Update
April 23, 2011 11:23 EDT
Taliban claims it shot down NATO helicopter
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Taliban is claiming to have shot down a NATO helicopter today.
NATO is reporting the crash of a coalition chopper in eastern Afghanistan. It says both crew members were rescued alive.
A Taliban spokesman tells The Associated Press that insurgents fired a rocket to bring the helicopter down.
Elsewhere in eastern Afghanistan, militants ambushed a police vehicle, killing two.
Fighting has escalated in the east as Afghan and coalition forces step up their attacks on insurgents along the Pakistan border and militants retaliate.
The Afghan Defense Ministry says eight insurgents were killed and eight others were wounded in a gunbattle with Afghan forces yesterday in eastern Kunar province, which borders Pakistan.
%@AP Links


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[ghundal]

Helicopter crash kills foreign soldier in Afghanistan

Helicopter crash kills foreign soldier in Afghanistan
(AFP) – 5 hours ago
KABUL — A member of the coalition force in Afghanistan died Saturday after his helicopter crashed, the military said, as two Afghan policemen died in a separate Taliban ambush.
The helicopter went down after apparently hitting a cable connecting two mountains in Kapisa province, northeast of the capital Kabul.
International troops came under fire from insurgents as they arrived at the scene to rescue two crew members, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
"The two crew members were recovered by coalition forces, one died at the scene from injuries received in the crash," it said in a statement.
"Aircraft recovery operations and heavy fighting continue in the area. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation."
It did not disclose the nationality of the dead service member, in line with policy.
The helicopter hit a cable, said Kapisa deputy provincial governor Aziz Ul Rahman.
"Initial information we have says that the helicopter of the foreign forces has hit a cable that the local people in Alasay district had erected between two mountains to ferry rocks," he said.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed its forces had shot down the helicopter, killing all those aboard. The militants are known frequently to exaggerate their claims.
The serviceman was the second from the NATO-led ISAF to die Saturday.
Another was killed separately in eastern Afghanistan, ISAF said, without giving further details.
Eastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan where insurgents have hideouts, is frequently the scene of fierce fighting.
A total of 135 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan so far this year, compared to 711 for the whole of 2010, according to the independent website iCasualties.org.
The traditional fighting season has got under way in recent weeks with the start of spring.
In a third incident Saturday, two Afghan policemen died and two more were wounded in an ambush in Nangarhar province, also in the east, claimed by the Taliban.
Afghan security forces are frequently targeted by the Taliban and other insurgents who have been waging war in the impoverished country since a US-led invasion almost ten years ago.