2 separate news, Afghanistan helicopter crash, NATO peacekeepers die in shooting. Total 10 dead and
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[B]STORY HIGHLIGHTS[/B]
[B]NEW: French defense minister says four French soldiers were killed, eight injured by the shooter[/B]
[B][B]NEW: Sarkozy says France may bring its troops home early if security is not restored[/B][/B]
[B][B]Sarkozy: "All training operations and combat help by the French army are suspended"[/B][/B]
[B][B]Six NATO members killed in a helicopter crash appear to be American - official[/B][/B]
[B][B][B]Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)[/B] -- A helicopter from the NATO command in Afghanistan crashed late Thursday in the southern province of Helmand, killing six members of the force, allied military spokesmen reported.An International Security Assistance Force official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, told CNN the six dead, according to initial reports, appeared to be American.In a deadly 24 hours for NATO forces, a separate gun attack by an Afghan soldier also claimed the lives of four French servicemen in eastern Afghanistan Friday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.In a speech to the diplomatic corps, Sarkozy said he was sending French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet to Afghanistan following the death of four French soldiers.Eight French soldiers were also injured, one of them critically, Longuet said.The attack follows a similar shooting last month by an Afghan soldier of two French soldiers serving in an engineers' regiment, also in eastern Afghanistan.The French president said French forces could be brought back early from Afghanistan if the necessary security is not restored. According to the ISAF website, France currently has 3,935 troops in Afghanistan."All training operations and combat help by the French army are suspended," Sarkozy said. "The French army is not in Afghanistan to be shot at by Afghan soldiers."Friday's suspected shooter, who was a member of the Afghan National Army (ANA), has been apprehended, an ISAF statement said."It was during a training session inside the base that a shooter killed four of our soldiers. This is unacceptable and demands a full investigation," Longuet said.Responding to the shooting last month, Sarkozy had stressed his country's "determination to continue working within the International Security Assistance Force to restore peace and stability in that country and contribute to its development."The cause of the helicopter crash, which happened around midnight Kabul time (2:30 p.m. ET), is still under investigation, ISAF said.There was no enemy activity in the area when the helicopter went down in Helmand, said Col. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force.The Taliban claimed responsibility Friday for bringing down the helicopter.Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, told CNN via text message: "A Chinook was shot down in Zubair Karez area, between Musa Qala and Zamin Dawar in southern Helmand province, and a number of foreigners traveling in it were killed."Friday's shooting was the latest in a series of attacks on NATO forces by members of the Afghan army.In October, a gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform turned his weapon on coalition forces during training, killing three and wounding several others. The shooter was killed in the incident in southern Afghanistan.But ISAF spokesman Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings played down the threat."Incidents in the recent past where Afghan soldiers have wounded or killed ISAF members are isolated cases and are not occurring on a routine basis," he said. "We train and are partnered with Afghan personnel every day and we are not seeing any issues or concerns with our relationships."NATO is scheduled to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.Many ISAF members are involved in missions to train and support Afghan forces as they prepare to take on greater security responsibilities.[/release]
[URL]http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/20/world/asia/afghanistan-helicopter-crash/[/URL]
Today is a sad day. RIP[/B][/B]
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