An American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter prepares to land near in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, in an April 9, 2013 file photo. Getty
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Six U.S. troops were killed Tuesday when their Blackhawk helicopter made a hard landing in southern Afghanistan and then came under attack by insurgents, American officials tell CBS News.It was not immediately clear whether the six died in the hard landing or in the subsequent attack on their position.
The U.S.-led international military coalition confirmed that six service members had died in an aircraft crash, but said there were no initial reports of fighting or insurgent activity in the area at the time.
The alliance said only that the crash was under investigation. It did not provide any further details.
Deputy governor of southern Zabul province, Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, told the AP that a NATO helicopter crashed in the remote district of Shajau.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi in southern Afghanistan claimed in a message sent to news organizations that militants had shot down the helicopter while it flew at low altitude.Neither U.S. nor NATO officials immediately confirmed the cause of the hard landing. The Taliban often exaggerates its claims of successful operations.
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Six U.S. troops were killed Tuesday when their Blackhawk helicopter made a hard landing in southern Afghanistan and then came under attack by insurgents, American officials tell CBS News.It was not immediately clear whether the six died in the hard landing or in the subsequent attack on their position.
The U.S.-led international military coalition confirmed that six service members had died in an aircraft crash, but said there were no initial reports of fighting or insurgent activity in the area at the time.
The alliance said only that the crash was under investigation. It did not provide any further details.
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Deputy governor of southern Zabul province, Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, told the AP that a NATO helicopter crashed in the remote district of Shajau.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi in southern Afghanistan claimed in a message sent to news organizations that militants had shot down the helicopter while it flew at low altitude.Neither U.S. nor NATO officials immediately confirmed the cause of the hard landing. The Taliban often exaggerates its claims of successful operations.