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5 Afghanistan helicopter crash victims from Kentucky brigade

23 September 2010 03:34 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Five of the nine U.S. military members killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan this week were from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, according to a statement from the base Wednesday, APA reports quoting CNN.
Families of the five soldiers have been notified, but the names have not yet been released by the military, the statement said.
The crash occurred Tuesday in the Daychopan district of Zabul province, one of several turbulent southern regions where coalition and Afghan troops have been battling the tenacious militant group for years. The cause of the crash remains unknown.
"There are no reports of enemy fire at the time the aircraft went down," NATO’s International Security Assistance Force told CNN on Tuesday.
Along with the nine U.S. military members killed, two other service
members, as well as an Afghan National Army soldier and an American civilian, were injured in the crash. They were taken to a NATO medical facility.
ISAF did not release the nationalities of Tuesday’s crash victims, but a
Western defense source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed the nationalities of those killed.
A CNN tally brings the number of coalition troop fatalities so far this
year to 526, including 350 Americans, surpassing the previous highs - 516 coalition troop deaths, including 313 Americans - in 2009.