14 Americans Killed, 27 Injured in Two Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan

October 26, 2009

Chopper crashes in Afghanistan kill 14 Americans

October 26, 2009

KABUL (AFP) –

 

US Marine helicopter in Helmand, Afghanistan

Fourteen Americans were killed and more than 25 other (US and Afghani servicemen)  injured in two military helicopter crashes in Afghanistan on Monday, one of them an apparent mid-air collision, NATO said.

The deaths made Monday one of the deadliest single days in Afghanistan for foreign civilian and military personnel.

The Taliban militia, however, claimed its fighters had been behind both incidents.

One helicopter crashed in western Afghanistan due to "unconfirmed reasons," NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement, adding: "The cause is not believed to be from enemy action."

Ten Americans were killed and 26 other people wounded in the incident, but the military released neither the type of helicopter involved nor immediately specified whether all the casualties had been on board.

"Seven US service members and three US civilians were killed," ISAF said.

"Those injured include 14 Afghan service members, 11 US service members and one US civilian," it added.

An ISAF official earlier told AFP on condition of anonymity that the crash happened in Badghis province, an area where Taliban activity, much of it related to opium production, has been escalating in recent months.

Another four US service members were killed and two other soldiers wounded in an apparent mid-air collision between two helicopters in southern Afghanistan, NATO said in an earlier statement.

Taliban Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP (that Taliban fighters) had "shot down" the helicopter in the western Badghis province, and that it had also been behind the mid-air collision in the south.

Speaking to AFP from an undisclosed location, he was unable to provide any material proof of his claim.

Helicopters are a key asset in transporting military and cargo for foreign forces given Afghanistan's rugged terrain and the presence of Taliban fighters.

Colonel Wayne Shanks, of the US Army, said that investigations into both incidents were being hampered by "combat conditions".

"This is where we see the nexus between the insurgency and the narcotics trade," he said, adding that a dozen insurgents were killed in the operation that the chopper brigade was involved in out west.

NATO and US troops are this year suffering the highest fatality rates since the deployment of foreign troops to Afghanistan in 2001.

Monday's deaths bring the total toll for the year to 435, according to an AFP tally based on the count by the independent icasualties.org website, which keeps a running tally. NATO's deadliest days in Afghanistan

About half of this year's casualties have been US nationals.