Kabul: A military helicopter crashed during an early morning operation in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing three Australian commandos and an American service member, officials said.
Two other international troops were killed Sunday in separate bombings in the south, Natoannounced without specifying nationalities. One of them was an American, according to a US spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks.
The Taliban claimed they had shot down the helicopter, but Nato said there were no indications of enemy involvement.
The Australian government said three of the dead were Australians, and U.S. Lt. Col. Joseph T. Breasseale said the fourth service member killed was American.
Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said seven other Australian soldiers were wounded, two of them badly.
"This is a tragic day for Australia and for the Australian defense force," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement to Parliament.
"We know our mission in Afghanistan is hard, but this mission is critical for our common security."
There were 15 people aboard the helicopter, 10 of them Australians, according to Australian Defense Minister John Faulkner.
