Camp Pendleton marine is one of 14 Americans killed in Afghanistan
KABUL (AP) - The Taliban say that their fighters have shot down
a helicopter in northwestern Afghanistan.
The claim comes on the day that helicopter crashes killed 11 American troops and three DEA agents, making it the deadliest day for the U.S. in Afghanistan in more than four years. The U.S. military says four troops were killed when two Marine helicopters collided before dawn over the southern province of Helmand. Hostile fire has been ruled out in that incident. But U.S. authorities are not giving a cause for the deadlier incident. They say the helicopter went down as it was leaving the scene of a firefight in western Afghanistan, killing seven troops and the DEA agents. It's unclear whether the Taliban claim refers to that incident. The DEA agents' deaths are the first for the agency since it began operations in Afghanistan four years ago. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the raw ingredient in heroin. The illicit drug trade is a major source of funding for insurgent groups. |
