Helicopter Crash In Afghanistan Kills Nine NATO Servicemen

Nine NATO officials have been killed as the helicopter carrying them crashed in Southern Afghanistan. This was the deadliest aviation-related disaster for coalition troops in the last four years.

A senior US military official based in Washington, speaking under the cloak of anonymity, told that many US troops were among those killed. The crash also left a coalition serviceman, an American civilian and a soldier from the Afghan National Army wounded.

The mission of the helicopter and the reason for the crash are yet to be known. According to NATO, there is no evidence to suggest that the crash in Afghanistan's Zabul province was due to enemy fire. However, Qari Yousuf Ahmedi, the Taliban spokesperson, claimed the helicopter was gunned down by insurgents.

The Taliban have often claimed credit for such incidents in the past. Aircrafts are extensively used in Afghanistan to carry troops and supplies by both coalition and Afghan troops because of the lack of road infrastructure and difficult mountainous terrain.

Due to the shortage of anti-aircraft guns and shoulder-fired missiles, the Taliban frequently use rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns to target aircraft during landings and takeoff.

A separate explosion attack in the south of the country left one NATO troop dead. No details of the incident were revealed. Some 524 American and NATO troops have died in Afghanistan this year, making it the deadliest year for coalition troops since the beginning of the war in 2001.