Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan Kills 9

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2010 – Nine International Security Assistance Force servicemembers were killed when an ISAF helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan today, military officials reported.

One ISAF servicemember, an Afghan soldier and a U.S. civilian were injured in the crash and were transported to an ISAF medical facility for treatment, officials said.

There are no reports of enemy fire in the area, and the cause of the crash is under investigation. ISAF officials have not released the names or nationalities of the casualties or the type of helicopter.

In other news from Afghanistan:

-- An Afghan and coalition security force detained several suspected insurgents in Helmand province’s Lashkar Gar district yesterday while in pursuit of a Taliban bombing cell leader.

-- Afghan and coalition forces completed a two-day deliberate clearing operation yesterday aimed at disrupting the Taliban's freedom of movement outside Kandahar City, killing at least 11 insurgents and destroying several homes bobby-trapped to explode. The combined force encountered multiple trip-wire bombs, a large homemade-bomb factory and multiple booby-trapped houses. Coalition aircraft conducted several precision air strikes on the sites to protect the local population, officials said

-- ISAF officials confirmed an Afghan and coalition security force killed Nasruddin, a Taliban subcommander who operated in Kunduz province’s Aliabad district, in a Sept. 19 intelligence-based operation. Nasruddin planned and conducted attacks against Afghan civilians and Afghan and coalition forces. As the security force approached the targeted compound, several armed insurgents ran out firing. The assault force reacted by engaging the insurgents from the ground and from coalition aircraft. Five insurgents, including Nasruddin, were killed in the engagement. After questioning the residents at the scene, the security force detained two insurgents.

-- An Afghan and coalition security force captured the Taliban commander for Baghlan province’s Baghlan-e Jadid district yesterday and killed two Taliban insurgents, including Mullah Mahboob Elahi, a senior Taliban leader and weapons facilitator Three other insurgents were captured. The district commander was linked to several attacks during Afghanistan’s Sept. 18 elections, and Elahi regularly travelled to Pakistan to meet with Taliban senior leadership and obtain weapons. The security force also discovered and destroyed multiple automatic weapons, grenades, magazines, mortar fuses and ammunition, along with bomb-making materials, at the scene.

-- In Nangarhar province’s Sherzad district yesterday, an Afghan and coalition security force killed three insurgents and detained several others while in pursuit of a Taliban commander responsible for ambush and remotely controlled bomb attacks. The commander also leads up to 150 fighters, officials said. Several armed insurgents fired at the security force, which then returned fire and killed three of them. After the area was secured, the security force questioned the residents at the scene and detained three insurgents. The assault force also found and destroyed multiple automatic weapons, hand grenades, magazines and ammunition, along with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with multiple rounds and a pistol.

-- An Afghan and coalition security force detained a Haqqani terrorist network subcommander and three additional suspects in an intelligence-based operation in Khost province’s Khost district yesterday. The subcommander is directly linked to attacks during the Sept. 18 elections and previous attacks during high-profile events.

-- Afghan and coalition security forces detained seven suspected insurgents in Zabul province’s Shah Joy district yesterday during their continued pursuit of a Taliban bomb-attack facilitator operating in the Qalat district.

-- Insurgents attacked a combined Afghan and coalition dismounted patrol with small-arms and machine-gun fire in Helmand province’s Nad-e Ali district yesterday. The combined force positively identified insurgent firing positions and responded with small-arms and mortar fire. The force also called for close-air support. A coalition aircraft engaged the insurgent firing positions with precision-guided munitions and gun runs. The engagement resulted in 14 insurgents killed and one wounded. Initial operational reporting stated there were no civilian casualties.

-- Coalition forces detained a Taliban commander responsible for planting roadside bombs, running illegal checkpoints and conducting attacks on Combat Outpost Terezayi in Khost province’s Terezayi district in a Sept. 17 operation. Noor Wali Shah, head of the district’s ethics department, was detained after coalition forces conducting a routine patrol recognized him as a person of interest and verified his identity. Shah, who is connected to a Sept. 1 attack on the combat outpost, was known as an insurgent cell leader in the district.

Afghan and coalition forces protected women and children present during the operations, officials said.