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Deadly Military Helicopter Explosion in Afghanistan

   VOA News 12 October 2010
   Soldiers assist a NATO soldier wounded by an IED explosion in Kandahar
   province in southern Afghanista

Photo: AFP

   Soldiers assist a NATO soldier wounded by an IED explosion in Kandahar
   province  in  southern  Afghanistan  on 12, Oct. 2010. An explosion on
   board  a  US  helicopter  killed  one  person and wounded seven others
   shortly   after  it  landed  on  a  small  military  base  in  eastern
   Afghanistan on the same day.

   International  forces  in  Afghanistan  say one person is dead after a
   military helicopter exploded shortly after landing Tuesday.
   NATO  initially  said two people were killed and ten others wounded in
   the blast, which occurred at a base in eastern Afghanistan.  But NATO
   officials  now have also reduced the number of injured to seven.  The
   alliance  says  26  people were on board the helicopter when the blast
   happened.
   The  cause  of  the explosion has not been determined.  NATO says the
   landing  site  has  been secured by Afghan soldiers and personnel from
   the   International  Security  Assistance  Force,  NATO's  mission  in
   Afghanistan.
   Meanwhile,  the  Afghan  Interior  Ministry  says  at least six Afghan
   civilians  were  killed  in  an  insurgent  attack  in eastern Paktika
   province.   The  ministry says women and children were among the dead
   when their vehicle was struck by a rocket.

   And  in  another  attack,  several NATO soldiers were wounded after an
   improvised  explosive  devised went off in southern Kandahar province,
   where thousands of international troops are trying to dislogde Taliban
   militants from their spiritual homeland.
   The  war  is  now in its deadliest year so far. Around 152,000 foreign
   troops  under  US  and  NATO command are fighting a Taliban insurgency
   that  has  steadily  expanded since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion brought
   down their regime.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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