6 NATO soldiers killed in Afghan helicopter crash
December 17, 2013  23:38
Six soldiers from the US-led NATO mission fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan were killed in a helicopter crash today, with NATO officials saying it was not a suspected militant strike. 

However the Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the deaths, using their main Twitter account to report that their fighters had shot down a US helicopter in the province of Zabul.

The incident was the single biggest loss of life for the NATO mission in Afghanistan since seven Georgian soldiers died when a suicide bomber blew up a truck loaded with explosives outside a base in Helmand province in June. 

"Six International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) service members died following an aircraft crash in southern Afghanistan today," an ISAF statement said, declining to give the nationalities of the victims. 

"The cause of the crash is under investigation, however initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash.
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