5 U.S. soldiers die, 7 hurt as helicopter crashes

KABUL, Afghanistan - Five U.S. soldiers were killed and seven injured when their helicopter crashed Sunday near the American military headquarters north of the Afghan capital, U.S. Central Command said.

The soldiers were involved in Operation Mountain Resolve in eastern Afghanistan, the military said.

"A U.S. military helicopter crashed today near Bagram, Afghanistan," said a statement sent by e-mail from Central Command, in Tampa. "Early reports indicate seven service members were injured and at least five service members were killed."

It was not clear what caused the crash, and the military said it was investigating.

Bagram Air Base, just north of the capital, is home to most of the 11,600 coalition forces in Afghanistan. An additional 5,000 international peacekeepers patrol Kabul.

Mountain Resolve has been going on since Nov. 7 in eastern Nuristan and Kunar provinces, but so far no major skirmishes with suspected Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts have taken place.

Also Sunday, a coalition vehicle struck a land mine while patrolling an area of Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, seriously wounding two American soldiers, including one who lost one of his legs.

Several reporters were traveling with the 10th Mountain Division forces in eastern Afghanistan, but none was seriously hurt, the U.S. military said in a statement issued at Bagram air base. It gave no further information about the journalists.

The explosion occurred about 1 p.m. in Shkin, Paktika province, about 135 miles south of Kabul, the Afghan capital. A coalition base also is located there.

The wounded soldiers received initial medical treatment at the scene, then were evacuated by air to a medical facility at nearby Salerno base in the city of Khost, the statement said. The men were Staff Sgt. Roy Mitchell, of Batesville, Ind., and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Eichner of Stonington, Pa., said officials at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Mitchell, 32, suffered burns on his face, neck and back, and his left leg was amputated. Eichner, 31, was wounded by shrapnel in his back and had a broken hand, the officials said.

Eastern and southern Afghanistan have become a hotbed of attacks on coalition forces, U.N. workers and relief agencies by insurgents backing the Taliban and al-Qaida.

On Friday, the violence hit Kabul when a rocket landed 30 yards from the Intercontinental Hotel, shattering glass but causing no injuries.

Some 35 Americans have died from hostile fire in Afghanistan since the October 2001 start of the Afghan war, according to the U.S. military. This year, at least 18 Americans have died and more than 20 have been wounded, particularly along the border with Pakistan.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan soldiers opened fire Sunday on former army officers and other Defense Ministry personnel who stormed the ministry building in a protest seeking back wages. One demonstrator was killed and three wounded, authorities said.

About 200 protesters rushed the gate and some opened fire with pistols, knocking out windows, said Gen. Zahir Azmi, a ministry spokesman.

"The soldiers had no choice but to fire back," Azmi told the Associated Press.

The four protesters who were hit, part of an overall group of about 1,000 demonstrators that included former army officers, were taken to a nearby hospital, where one died.

The Defense Ministry has undergone sweeping reforms in recent months aimed at making the ministry more ethnically balanced. The government has dismissed more than 20,000 from the ministry and plans to fire 30,000 more.

The protesters want their jobs back and are seeking wages for their final months of work.

- Information from the New York Times was used in this report.

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