Five U.S. soldiers were killed and seven others were injured Nov. 23 when their helicopter crashed near Bagram, Afghanistan, according to US Central Command officials.

A CENTCOM statement did not specify the type of helicopter or its unit, except to say it was a US military helicopter and that the soldiers were taking part in an operation called Mountain Resolve in the eastern part of the country.

Officials said the cause of the crash is being investigated.

Media reports, however, do provide a lot more data. The aircraft involved was an MH-53. It went down, Sunday, near the American military headquarters north of the Afghan capital. The aircraft and soldiers were involved in an ongoing US military operation, called "Mountain Resolve." Mountain Resolve has been conducted since Nov. 7 in both Eastern Nuristan and Kunar provinces, but has reported few skirmishes with potential Taliban and al-Qaida operatives.

The Bagram operation, based just north of the capital, hosts most of the 11,600 coalition forces in Afghanistan, while an additional 5,000 international peacekeepers patrol Kabul.

FMI: www.centcom.mil, www.defenselink.mil, www.DefendAmerica.mil