NATO helicopter crashes in Afghanistan; No deaths

CBS

(AP) KABUL, Afghanistan - A NATO service member was killed in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, and a helicopter crashed on a mission overnight, but no one was hurt, the international coalition said.

No details about the fatal attack were released. The U.S.-led coalition force does not identify the nationalities of casualties until individual countries name them.

The Chinook helicopter made a hard landing in the eastern province of Logar late Monday night, coalition spokeswoman Lt. j.g. Amy Hession said. The aircraft was heavily damaged, so the crew destroyed it before they were evacuated from the scene, she said.

There were no initial reports of insurgent activity nearby, Hession said. She could not confirm the helicopter's mission.

The Taliban claimed in a statement Tuesday that its fighters shot down the helicopter and killed all those aboard. The insurgents often exaggerate success of attacks or claim accidents as victories.

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The Taliban also claimed to have shot down another helicopter that crashed this month in Kandahar province, killing seven American service members and four Afghans. U.S. officials at the time said the helicopter did not appear to have been hit by enemy fire, but the official investigation is not complete.