Helicopter crashes after Afghan attack

KABUL (Reuters) – An Apache attack helicopter from
Afghanistan’s U.S.-led force crashed on Sunday evening while
hunting insurgents who fired rockets into the main foreign
military base in the Afghan south.

A crewman was killed and one injured in the crash, which
occurred shortly after the aircraft took off from the base
outside the southern city of Kandahar, the force said in a
statement.

“The cause of the crash will be investigated, but enemy
fire has been ruled out,” it said.

The force declined to give the nationality of the crewmen
killed and injured, a spokesman said.

A commander for the Taliban, who have intensified their
insurgency this year, said by telephone from an undisclosed
location that they had shot it down.

Two rockets were fired into the sprawling Kandahar base on
Sunday but they caused no casualties, a spokesman for the
U.S.-led coalition said.

Seven foreign troops and three civilian workers were
wounded in a rocket attack on the base on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Saeed Ali Achakzai)