A US military helicopter crashed while on combat operations in eastern Afghanistan, killing all 10 people on board, the US military said today.
The CH-47 Chinook crashed last night evening near Asadabad, the capital of the eastern province of Kunar.
The US miliary said the crash was not a result of enemy fire although Taliban insurgents claimed they shot it down with a "new weapon". "The remains of 10 servicemen were found in the aircraft.
There were no survivors," said US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence. She declined to specify the nationality of the dead.
US forces work with Afghan troops and soldiers from other countries in a US-led alliance. The cause of the crash was being investigated but there was "absolutely no indication" it had been brought down by hostile fire, she said.
The United States has more than 19,000 troops in Afghanistan but is aiming to cut its troop numbers to 16,500 as reinforcements from fellow NATO members take over more responsibilities.
US forces last month launched an offensive against Taliban rebels in Kunar, which is on the Pakistani border.
In June last year, an MH-47 - a special forces version of the CH-47 - was shot down during an anti-guerrilla mission in the province killing all 16 US troops on board.
Last September, a US military Chinook crashed in the southern province of Zabul during an anti-militant operation killing all five American crew members.
Eighteen Americans, 15 service personnel and three civilians, were killed in a helicopter crash during a dust storm in the eastern province of Ghazni in April last year.