Officials: 'No Enemy Activity In The Area At The Time'

A helicopter reportedly carrying seven American service members went down Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, resulting in the fatal injury of six of those on board.

NATO said in an early statement that "The cause of the crash is under investigation; however, initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time."

Reuters reports that the deputy governor of the Zabul province, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, said an aircraft had gone down in the Shah Joy district of the region. On Twitter, a spokesman for the Taliban said militants had shot down a helicopter Tuesday in the area, but officials said that the Taliban regularly claims responsibility for such accidents to which it has no connection.

Fox News reports that an official in Washington had originally said the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter experienced engine problems, but later walked back from that statement, saying it was "unclear" what happened.

NBC news cites a military official who said the aircraft experienced a hard landing due to mechanical difficulties, and that the crew came under fire from militants after the aircraft was on the ground.

The Pentagon says there are about 67,000 international troops still in Afghanistan, of which about 43,000 are American.

FMI: www.isaf.nato.int