Bodies Found at Copter Crash Site in Afghanistan

U.S. and Afghan troops hiked across rugged terrain Thursday to reach the wreckage of a civilian helicopter that crashed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing up to 16 people, including at least two Americans.

A purported Taliban spokesman claimed that the rebels had shot down the chopper, but a military official said bad weather probably caused the crash.

The Russian-made MI-8 helicopter, owned by the Afghan government and operated by a private company, crashed Wednesday about 25 miles northeast of the city of Khowst, in a region where Al Qaeda and Taliban militants are active. It was flying from Kabul, the capital.

Afghan and U.S. troops had recovered 12 bodies and were searching for four others in the rugged mountainous terrain, said Col. Tom Collins, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. At least two U.S. civilians were among the dead; the others were Afghans and foreigners, he said.

The Dutch military said two officers were killed in the crash, its first fatalities in Afghanistan, where the Netherlands has 1,500 troops as part of a NATO-led multinational security force. Officials said there were no survivors.

The helicopter was operated by a logistics firm, Tryco Inc. A Tryco official in Kabul said the craft had been rented by Fluor Corp., a U.S. firm doing construction work in Khowst province, 90 miles southeast of Kabul.