British among dead in NATO helicopter crash in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A helicopter crashed Sunday under non-hostile conditions in Afghanistan, killing five NATO staff, including two British military personnel.

Britain's Ministry of Defense released a statement saying the Puma Mk 2 helicopter crashed while landing at the Kabul headquarters of the NATO train, advise and assist mission in Afghanistan, known as "Resolute Support."

"The incident is currently under investigation but we can confirm that it was an accident and not the result of insurgent activity," the statement read. "The families of the two personnel who were killed have been informed and requested a period of grace before their names are released."

NATO has not indicated the nationalities of the other victims. Five other people riding in the aircraft were injured in the crash.

The incident comes the same day a roadside bomb detonated next to a NATO convoy as it drove through a residential area near a market in the capital.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which injured seven people, saying it was retaliation for coalition airstrikes against doctors and civilians in Kunduz.

The Taliban seized the northern city late last month, and a U.S. airstrike, requested by counter-attacking Afghan forces on Oct. 3, killed 22 people and injured dozens of others when it hit a hospital used by Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières.

The United States on Sunday said it would financially compensate survivors of the airstrike as well as the families of the dead.

The British defense ministry said none of its personnel were hurt in Sunday's roadside bombing, but BBC correspondent Shaimaa Khalil said it is the first attack against the British military in Kabul since it withdrew from the country last year.