NATO Coalition convoy bombed in Kabul was British; Coalition chopper crash in Kabul kills five Coalition members

Associated Press report filed by Rahim Faiez, October 11 at 7:21 PM:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A military helicopter crashed Sunday at the NATO base in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing five coalition members and injuring five others, authorities said.

A statement from the Resolute Support Mission did not give the nationalities of those killed and injured, all of them NATO personnel. But the British Ministry of Defense said two Royal Air Force members were among those killed when the Puma Mk 2 helicopter crashed while landing at the headquarters of the NATO Resolute Support Mission, which is training Afghan security forces.

The mission statement said the helicopter “crashed due to a non-hostile incident” around 4:15 p.m. Sunday at Camp Resolute Support in Kabul.

In London, the Ministry of Defense also said a convoy of British military vehicles came under attack earlier Sunday in a separate incident in Kabul, but there were no fatalities.

Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi , Kabul’s police chief, said an explosion targeted a NATO military convoy in Kabul, wounding three civilians. He said the blast targeted two armored vehicles attached to the NATO Resolute Support mission, damaging one of them. He did not specify whether the vehicles were British..

While Rahimi and a Taliban spokesman said the convoy was attacked by a suicide car bomber, U.S. Army Col. Brian Tribus, the spokesman in Afghanistan for U.S. and NATO forces, said it was a roadside bomb. The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the three civilians suffered minor wounds. It said the blast damaged surrounding buildings.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sent a statement to local media claiming responsibility.

There have been a number of attacks in the capital in recent weeks, including one on Oct. 6 targeting the house of former Helmand governor Nahim Baloch. After an all-night battle, 10 people were wounded, including three civilians and seven members of the Afghan security forces. Officials said Baloch was not at home at the time.

The Taliban have been active across the country this year, most recently storming the northern city of Kunduz and holding it for three days before largely retreating in the face of a government counter-offensive.

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