Helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan kills 2 Americans

USPA News - A coalition helicopter crashed in a field in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing two American service members, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and a U.S. military official said. The exact cause was not immediately known.

The accident happened at around 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday when the military helicopter came down in an agricultural field in the Pachir Aw Agam district of Nangarhar province, which is located in the country`s eastern region. The type of aircraft involved in the accident was not immediately disclosed. U.S. Air Force Captain Daniel Einert, an ISAF spokesman, said two pilots were killed in the crash. "They were the only two on-board. The cause of the incident is under investigation, however initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash," he said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the crash, but both ISAF and Afghan officials rejected the claim. The Taliban often exaggerates its account for propaganda purposes, and the group frequently claims credit for attacks which are later found to have been carried out by other insurgent groups or incidents which are determined to have been an accident. A U.S. military official in Washington, D.C. said the two victims in Tuesday`s crash were American, but gave no other details. On March 11, five American soldiers were killed when a coalition helicopter crashed during a rain storm in southern Kandahar province. It followed the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter in Kandahar province in August 2012, killing seven American service members and four Afghans.