U.S. Helicopters Come Under Fire In Afghanistan

(RFE/RL) 5 December 2005 -- The U.S. military in Afghanistan said today that insurgents had fired at two CH-47 Chinook helicopters, which were forced to make hard landings during combat operations.

Five U.S. soldiers were wounded on 4 December in one of the incidents, in Kandahar Province, while an Afghan soldier was hurt in the landing in neighboring Uruzgan Province the same day.

Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Laurent Fox said one of the helicopters was destroyed.

The military also said that three U.S. soldiers were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their convoy in southern Zabul Province on 4 December. A suicide attack near a convoy of U.S.-led troops in Kandahar Province killed an Afghan civilian and wounded one U.S. soldier.

(Reuters)