11 Killed as Black Hawk Downed in Afghanistan: ISAF

A NATO Black Hawk helicopter came down in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing seven occupation soldiers and four Afghans, the military said, as Taliban claimed to have shot it down

A NATO Black Hawk helicopter came down in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing seven occupation soldiers and four Afghans, the military said, as Taliban claimed to have shot it down.



Three US soldiers, four other members of the US-led NATO mission, three members of the Afghan security forces and an Afghan civilian interpreter were killed, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.



"The cause of the crash is under investigation," it said, adding that the helicopter was a UH-60 Black Hawk. The statement gave no further details.



Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi told AFP: "Our mujahideen (holy warriors) shot down an ISAF helicopter in Chenarto area of Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar province at around 11:00 am (0630 GMT)."The helicopter was destroyed and all the crew and soldiers inside the chopper were killed."



The ISAF statement did not use its normal phrasing for a simple helicopter crash, which includes the line that no enemy activity was reported in the area.