Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan — A helicopter flying under private contract to Western forces in Afghanistan crashed in volatile Helmand province today, killing all six civilians aboard.
Military officials also reported the deaths of two U.S. Marines in the same southern province, where the biggest U.S.-led military operation since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 is underway.
The downed helicopter was operated by a contractor working for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Western military officials said. The contractor was not identified, and the nationalities of those aboard were not disclosed.
The Taliban claimed through a spokesman to have shot down the chopper, but such a claim is routinely put forth when any coalition aircraft crashes.
Insurgents have managed only in rare instances to bring down Western helicopters; weather or mechanical problems are more often found to be the culprit. The ISAF said the cause of the latest crash was under investigation.
The Marines' deaths, which occurred Monday, were the result of "hostile activity," a U.S. military spokeswoman said, without providing any details. About 4,000 Marines are taking part in a push into the lower Helmand River Valley, where Taliban fighters in past years have operated freely.
The area is also a center of Afghanistan's lucrative drug trade, whose profits help fuel the insurgency. The Marines, who swiftly built a string of small bases after seizing a swath of villages and farmland on July 2, have said they intend to establish a long-term presence.
American and other Western forces are trying to improve security throughout Afghanistan in advance of Aug. 20 presidential elections, so that violence does not prevent large numbers of people from taking part in the vote.
Western military casualties in Afghanistan have spiked in recent days, with eight British soldiers killed over a 24-hour period that ended Friday. That has triggered heated debate in Britain about the Afghan mission, which has now claimed more British lives than the war in Iraq.
The bodies of the slain British troops were flown home today.
Just over a week ago, U.S. forces suffered seven fatalities in a single day -- the largest one-day tally in nearly a year.
The south, where American, British, Canadian and Dutch troops all operate, is considered the country's most violent region. But insurgents have also staged attacks this month in widely scattered parts of the country, some of which had been considered relatively calm.
A number of private contractors operate helicopters like the one that crashed in Helmand. As in Iraq, contractors often confront dangers similar to those faced by combat troops.
The crash was first reported by Afghan authorities in Helmand's Sangin district, who said the craft plunged to the ground and burst into flames. One Afghan national on the ground was injured, they said.
laura.king@latimes.com
