11 US soldiers killed in Afghan copter crashes
Nato officials rule out militant action behind the mishaps
Eleven US troops were killed in two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan on Monday as hundreds of Afghans rallied in Kabul in a second day of anti-US protests.
The Nato-led force said at least seven US soldiers died in a helicopter crash in western Afghanistan and four others in a separate mid-air helicopter collision in the south.
In Kabul, shouting ‘Down with America’, Afghans clashed with the police protesting against what participants said was the desecration of a copy of the Quran by foreign troops.
The events come in a politically charged period as Afghanistan braces for a November 7 run-off vote in its presidential poll after the first round in August was marred by allegations of widespread fraud.
The vote is crucial to the Western efforts to stabilise Afghanistan at a time when the insurgency is at its strongest since the US-led forces ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.
The Nato said seven US service members and three US civilians were killed when a helicopter they were aboard crashed in western Afghanistan following an operation against insurgents in which a dozen Taliban fighters were killed.
In a separate incident, four US service members were killed and two injured when two helicopters operated by Nato-led troops collided in mid-air in southern Afghanistan.
Although the Nato said neither crash was caused by hostile fire, the incidents highlighted the risks foreign troops face in Afghanistan, as US President Barack Obama deliberates whether to send additional troops there.
Protests
Underscoring many Afghans’ unease with the presence of the foreign troops, hundreds of people gathered in central Kabul on Monday shouting anti-American slogans and throwing stones.
For the second consecutive day, the police fired into the air to break up the crowd as protesters prepared to set fire to a crudely-made effigy of Obama outside the parliament building.
The protesters say the Nato forces burned a copy of Islam’s Quran during a raid in eastern Afghanistan last week.
The Nato-led force in Afghanistan has denied any involvement and blamed the Taliban for spreading false rumours.
The police have arrested up to 30 people. At least one police officer was injured in the clashes, a witness said.
Hundreds of people also gathered in the western city of Herat on Monday in related anti-US protests, a Reuters witness said.
Security has been tightened in Kabul ahead of the November 7 vote, particularly after the Taliban vowed to disrupt the poll and urged Afghans to boycott it.
The poll pits President Hamid Karzai against former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who has accused the incumbent of allowing widespread election fraud during the first round.
