Black Hawk helicopter crashes in Afghanistan with four on board

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Four U.S. troops were on board a Black Hawk helicopter when it crashed Thursday in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, a military official said.

The number of casualties and the cause of the crash were not immediately clear, said the officer, who was speaking anonymously because the incident is under investigation

“There was bad weather occurring at the time of the crash, but enemy action cannot be ruled out at this time,” said the officer, who is based in Kabul.

An official statement from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said the crash site had been secured.

Last year, a military helicopter was shot down in eastern Afghanistan, killing 38 U.S. and Afghan troops, including 17 who were part of the Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden. More recently, a January helicopter accident killed six members of the international military force in Afghanistan.

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-- David S. Cloud in Washington and Emily Alpert in Los Angeles