7 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghan Crash

Seven American troops were killed in a fiery helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, NATO reported.

The troops were on a mission in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar Thursday morning when the helicopter, a Blackhawk UH-60, went down. Three Afghan troops and one Afghan civilian interpreter were also on board and died in the crash.

The International Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan could not confirm the cause of the crash, saying only that it was currently under investigation.

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Initially, an ISAF spokesperson confirmed that only three of the Americans on board had been killed, referring to the others as ISAF service members.

Officials at the Department of Defense later clarified the ISAF service members were also American.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying one of its fighters shot down the aircraft. The ISAF would not confirm the aircraft had been shot down, but two hours before it announced the crash, a Taliban spokesperson tweeted that it had been shot down. The Kandahar governor's office also sent out a tweet referring to the aircraft as being "shot down."