U.S. Chopper Down In Afghanistan

A U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed Tuesday while flying troops into eastern Afghanistan, and the fate of those on board was not immediately known, the U.S. military said.

Sources tell CBS National Security Correspondent David Martin that there were 16 troops on board.

The cause of the crash in Kunar province was not clear, a military statement said. Provincial Governor Asadullah Wafa told The Associated Press that the Taliban hit the aircraft with a rocket. He gave no other details.

The military statement did not say how many troops were on the aircraft. It added that the "status of survivors is unknown at this time."

"U.S. fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters are currently providing close air support to the forces on the ground," it said.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said he could provide no other details about the incident.

Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi called The AP before news of the crash was made public and claimed that the rebels shot it down.

Hakimi often calls news organizations to claim responsibility for attacks on behalf of the Taliban. His information has sometimes proven untrue or exaggerated and his exact tie to the group's leadership is unclear.

The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. On April 6, 15 U.S. service members and three American civilians were killed when their chopper went down in a sandstorm as it was returning to the main U.S. base at Bagram.

A military Web site says that the helicopter can hold up to 33 troops plus three crew members.

Tuesday's crash comes after three months of unprecedented fighting that has killed about 465 suspected insurgents, 29 U.S. troops, 43 Afghan police and soldiers, and 125 civilians.

The violence has left much of the country off-limits to aid workers and has reinforced concerns that the war here is not winding down, but instead worsening into an Iraq-style conflict.

Afghan and U.S. officials have predicted that the situation will deteriorate in the lead-up to legislative elections in September — the next key step toward democracy after a quarter-century of war.