Helicopter Crash Kills 2 ISAF Members in Afghanistan

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 – Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan today, military officials reported.

The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, officials said.

It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities, officials said.

Also today, an Afghan and coalition security force requested an airstrike that killed several insurgents during a search for a Taliban leader in the Baraki Barak district of Afghanistan’s Logar province.

Insurgents attacked the combined force with small-arms fire and a grenade. The security force returned fire and requested a precision airstrike. Several insurgents were killed and the security force seized some weapons and a quantity of explosives.

The security force also discovered two women who had sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The security force provided medical assistance and transported both women to a medical facility for treatment.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- In the Taloqan district of Takhar province, a combined force detained an al-Qaida facilitator who’d served as a financier and liaison between al-Qaida leaders.

-- A combined force detained a Taliban leader and one suspect in the Daman district of Kandahar province. The detained insurgent leader was responsible for the construction, distribution and placement of improvised explosive devices used in attacks against coalition and Afghan forces.