NATO helicopter crashes in southern Afghanistan, 1 killed

NATO helicopter crashes in southern Afghanistan, 1 killed

2011-05-30 20:52:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A coalition service member was killed on Monday when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

ISAF said the accident happened in southern Afghanistan but gave no other details about the events or where it happened. "The cause of the hard landing is unknown and under investigation," an ISAF spokesperson said. "There were no reports of insurgent activity in the area at the time."

One Thursday, U.S. soldier Christopher R. Thibodeau, 28, was killed when his helicopter crashed during combat operations in the Nika district of Paktika province, not far from the border with Pakistan.

While ISAF did not say what caused Thursday's accident, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the crash. "A new report indicates that Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) shot down one of the US invaders' Apache-like helicopters while flying over Janant Khel area in Nika district of Paktika province on Thursday at approximately 10.00 a.m. local time," Zabihullah said.

In September 2010, nine NATO troops were killed and others were injured when an ISAF helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. A total of 212 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year.

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