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Afghan mid-air crash kills four Afghan crashes kill 14 Americans
(about 5 hours later)
Four American soldiers were killed when two helicopters collided mid-air in southern Afghanistan, Nato-led forces said in a statement. At least 14 Americans have been killed in a series of air crashes in Afghanistan, military officials say.
The incident is being investigated, but it is confirmed that hostile fire was not involved, the statement said. In the first incident, four US soldiers died and two were hurt when two helicopters collided mid-air in the south, Nato-led forces said.
Two soldiers were wounded in the crash which took place on Monday morning. They have been taken to hospital. In a separate incident seven soldiers and three civilians were killed in a helicopter crash in the west.
Meanwhile, another helicopter went down during an operation by international forces against insurgents in the west. Hostile fire was ruled out as a cause of the collision but no cause has yet been identified for the crash.
The statement said a dozen militants were killed as international troops searched a compound believed to harbour insurgents involved in drugs trafficking. Twelve Americans and 14 Afghans were injured in that incident.
As the international force left the area, one of its helicopters went down and military casualties were reported, the statement added.
This year has seen the highest death toll of international troops in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001.This year has seen the highest death toll of international troops in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001.
There have been dozens of American soldiers among those killed.There have been dozens of American soldiers among those killed.