A NATO spokesman, Major John Thomas, said that hostile fire may have brought down the Chinook helicopter.
The Taliban claims that it shot down the helicopter, and says 35 NATO troops were actually killed in the crash.
A battalion of U.S. forces from the 82nd Airborne Division has been engaged in fierce combat in Helmand in recent weeks.
(AP, Reuters, AFP)
RFE/RL Afghanistan Report
RFE/RL Afghanistan Report
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