No Injuries Reported In Monday Incident

Just a few days after a Chinook helicopter went down in Afghanistan fatally injuring 38 troops, a second NATO helo has make what's been described as a "hard landing" in the eastern portion of the country. Fortunately, though, this incident did not result in any casualties.

File Photo

The British news paper The Guardian reports that a NATO investigaion has been launched into the incident, but International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel David Doherty said that there was no enemy activity in the area where the helicopter, also a Chinook went down. That is contrary to a text message sent by the Taliban to Reuters claiming it had shot down the helo in the Zurmat distirct of Paktia. The message claimed that 33 NATO troops had been killed in the second incident.

Both incidnts have come at a time of increased protest activity in Afghanistan, and some 300 people reportedly gathered Monday carrying the bodies of two civilians they claimed had been killed during an ISAF raid. ISAF spokesman Captain Pietro D'Angelo said two insurgents had been killed after a patrol came under attack, but "there are no reports of civilians harmed during this operation."

The cause of both accidents is under investigation.

FMI: www.isaf.nato.int