NATO chopper down in Afghanistan, Taliban claim responsibility

KABUL - A helicopter from the NATO-led force went down in Afghanistan late Wednesday and there were likely casualties, the force said as the Taliban claimed to have shot down a chopper.
An International Security Assistance Force helicopter had "gone down" in southern Afghanistan about 9:00 pm (1630 GMT), an ISAF media statement said.
"It likely involves some casualties," ISAF spokesman Major John Thomas told AFP.
Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said members of his extremist movement had shot down an aircraft, which he said appeared to be a Chinook helicopter, in the southern province of Helmand late Wednesday.
"The helicopter burst into flames in the sky and then crashed. It seems that no one on board could have survived," he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
"The foreign troops have cordoned the area and are in control of the crash site so we cannot have access to the area to determine the number of casualties," he said.

05/30/2007 18:48 GMT