17 Feared Dead In Afghan Crash

U.S. Chinook Chopper Went Down In Mountainous Region

(CBS/AP)  "That did not come as a surprise to us, this area has been known to harbor those terrorist organizations or personnel," he said.

Provincial Gov. Asadullah Wafa told The Associated Press the Taliban downed the aircraft with a rocket. He gave no other details.

Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi telephoned the AP before news of the crash was released and said the rebels shot the helicopter down.

He said the rebels filmed the attack and would release the video to the media. He also claimed that rebels killed seven U.S. soldiers in an attack in the same area, although U.S. spokeswomen Lt. Cindy Moore said no such attack had been made on an American convoy.

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.

"This is a tragic event for all of us, and our hearts and prayers go out to the families, loved ones and men still fighting in the area," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Greg Champion, deputy commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76. "This incident will only further our resolve to defeat the enemies of peace."

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 while returning to the main U.S. base at Bagram.

The twin-rotor Chinook — an all-purpose cargo helicopter — was one of the workhorses of the Vietnam War, where it was first used, and has been in service in all wars since. It able to lift large loads of fuel or ammunition, or retrieve smaller helicopters.

It has a crew of four, including two pilots, a flight engineer and a crew chief, who man M60 machine guns to protect it.

The U.S. military has launched operations in several areas along the border with Pakistan. Those offensives target remnants of al Qaeda and the hard-line Taliban movement, as well as foreign fighters using high mountain passes to cross the largely uncontrolled border from Pakistan.

Tuesday's crash came 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 Afghanistan off-limits to aid workers and has heightened concerns that the war here is escalating into a conflict on the scale of that in Iraq.

Afghan and U.S. officials have predicted 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.