9 NATO troops killed in Afghan helicopter crash, bombings

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Source: WaPo

KABUL -- Nine NATO troops were killed Monday in a helicopter crash and a spate of attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan, putting June on pace to become the deadliest month for the U.S.-led international force in the nearly nine-year war.

At least 62 NATO service members, including 41 Americans, have been killed this month in Afghanistan -- an average of nearly three per day. Also on Monday, Afghan officials said a deputy district governor was slain in Wardak Province, the latest blow for the U.S. effort to boost local governance in Taliban strongholds.

The surge in NATO casualties comes as the U.S. military is deploying an additional 30,000 troops to Taliban strongholds in an effort to secure them enough for the Afghan government to assume control.

"We're getting into places where we haven't been," Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in an interview. The Taliban are "going to continue to fight back for those areas so they don't lose their influence or the significant amount of drug money and resources," he added.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/21/AR2010062100878.html

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Was this really a crash, or was it shot down?

Or did it crash after it was shot down?

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2. Not mutually exclusive, is seems to me.

It can be shot down, and it can crash, or both, or either one separate, etc. Sometimes the ambiguity is intentional.

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3. FWIW, Lt. Gen. Rodriguez implies it's not entirely accidental,

since he blathers on about the Taliban and their relentless obstinate resistance and all.