Six United States Marines died Friday in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, an unidentified U.S. official has confirmed. NATO also confirmed the crash, but has not released the names and nationalities of the causalities.
The CH-53 helicopter went down in Helmand province around midnight local time. The cause of the crash remains unclear and is under investigation. The Taliban claimed a group of their militants shot down the helicopter, but the NATO-led ISAF said there was no enemy activity in the area at the time.
“A Chinook was shot down in Zubair Karez area, between Musa Qala and Zamin Dawar in southern Helmand province, and a number of foreigners traveling in it were killed,” Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed in a text message to CNN.
No other details were immediately available. Friday’s crash comes five months after the Taliban brought down a Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. The attack killed 30 American soldiers and 8 Afghan soldiers.
###
Click here for more World News
