Deadly Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Five NATO troops died in a British helicopter crash Saturday in southern Afghanistan, authorities said, the single deadliest day this year for foreign forces as they prepare to withdraw from the country.

The helicopter crash came as an Afghan university official identified two Americans killed in a shooting at a Kabul hospital earlier this week, the latest incident of local security forces opening fire on those they are supposed to protect.

The cause of the helicopter crash was not immediately known. Kandahar provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani said the helicopter went down in the province's Takhta Pul district in the southeast, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Pakistani border. He said five international troops were killed but did not know what caused the crash.

The coalition said it was investigating the circumstances of the crash but said it had no reports of enemy activity in the area. The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry confirmed that the helicopter was British, but could not confirm the nationalities of the dead.