US helicopter crashes in Afghanistan, 10 dead

A U.S. helicopter crashed while on combat operations in Afghanistan, killing all 10 American soldiers and crew on board, the military said yesterday.

The CH-47 Chinook crashed late on Friday near Asadabad, the capital of the mountainous eastern province of Kunar.

The US military said there was no indication the crash was a result of enemy fire. Taliban insurgents, however, claimed they shot down the helicopter.

"The remains of 10 servicemen were found in the aircraft. There were no survivors," said US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence, adding the cause was being investigated.

Insurgents shot down an MH-47 - a special forces version of the CH-47 - with a rocket-propelled grenade in Kunar in June last year. All 16 US troops on board were killed.

US forces and the Afghan government launched an offensive in Kunar last month. Insurgents have long been active in the province on the Pakistani border.

The United States has more than 19,000 troops in Afghanistan, battling insurgents and hunting for their leaders.

It is aiming soon to cut its troop numbers to 16,500 as reinforcements from fellow NATO members take over more responsibilities.

President Hamid Karzai said he was deeply saddened by the deaths in Friday's crash.

A Taliban commander, Mullah Dadullah, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, said Taliban fighters had shot down the helicopter on Friday with a "new weapon". A Taliban spokesman said the helicopter was downed with a surface-to-air missile.