Helicopter Crash Kills 2 NATO Soldiers in Afghanistan

[Shah-i-Kot]

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-ne...afghanistan-2/


Helicopter Crash Kills 2 NATO Soldiers in Afghanistan

Posted Monday, May 28th, 2012 at 9:25 am

NATO officials said two coalition members were killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan Monday.
The coalition said it is investigating the cause of the crash. Initial reports said there was no enemy activity in the area.
Earlier, another coalition aircraft also crashed in eastern Afghanistan. There were no fatalities in that crash.
Also Monday, an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan killed a NATO service member.
NATO did not release the names or nationalities of the victims.
More than 170 NATO troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year.
On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta defended plans to gradually wind down military operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Speaking on ABC's This Week program, the Pentagon chief said NATO forces still have a fight on their hands, but that “it is on the right track.”
Critics of a withdrawal timeline say Afghan militants will bide their time until international troops are gone.
Also Sunday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned a coalition airstrike that officials say killed a family of eight in eastern Paktia province, where Afghan and international troops are trying to quell the Taliban insurgency.
A provincial government spokesman Rohullah Samoon told VOA Sunday the overnight airstrike killed a man, his wife and six children in the Gerda Serai district. He said that according to his information, the man was not linked to any insurgent group or any anti-government activities.

[Shah-i-Kot]

http://www.wcyb.com/nationalnews/31120700/detail.html


2 Killed In Afghanistan Helicopter Crash

By From Masoud Popalzai CNN
POSTED: 5:24 am EDT May 28, 2012UPDATED: 12:04 pm EDT May 28, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two International Security Assistance Force troops were killed in one of two helicopter crashes Monday in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.Separately, three police and four tribal elders were killed in a roadside bombing, police said.The first helicopter crash, during a routine operation, did not result in any fatalities, said ISAF spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff. Two died in the second crash, ISAF said.Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in an e-mail that the two helicopters were shot down and 36 soldiers died, but ISAF said there were no reports of enemy activity in the area where the crashes occurred.A third ISAF service member died Monday in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, the coalition said in a news release. No further details were released on the attack or the crashes.After the first crash, those on board the chopper were taken to a NATO facility for evaluation. The crash did not harm civilians or damage property, ISAF said.Some previous helicopter crashes involving ISAF members were the result of enemy fire, while others were for mechanical reasons.The single deadliest loss for U.S. troops since the Afghan war began in late 2001 happened in August. Thirty U.S. service members died when a helicopter carrying them went down while they were reinforcing other troops, officials said. Seven Afghan troops died as well.A U.S. military official said then that insurgents were believed to have shot down the CH-47 Chinook. The Taliban said that militants downed the helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade.More recently, 12 people died in March when a helicopter crashed in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul. And in April, the Taliban claimed responsibility for downing a Black Hawk helicopter in southern Afghanistan.The roadside bombing Monday struck a car in northern Baghlan province. All seven in the car died, police said.The Taliban claimed responsibility in a text message from Mujahid. The police were targeted, he said.