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KABUL, Afghanistan Five NATO troops died in a British helicopter crash Saturday in southern Afghanistan, authorities said, the single deadliest day this year for foreign forces as they prepare to withdraw from the country.

The cause of the helicopter crash was not immediately known. Kandahar provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani said the helicopter went down in the province's Takhta Pul district in the southeast, about 31 miles from the Pakistani border. He said five international troops were killed but did not know what caused the crash.

The coalition said it was investigating the circumstances of the crash but said it had no reports of enemy activity in the area. The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry confirmed that the helicopter was British, but could not confirm the nationalities of the dead.

A Taliban spokesman claimed in a text message to journalists that the insurgents shot down the aircraft.

"Today, the mujahedeen hit the foreign forces' helicopter with a rocket, and 12 soldiers on board were killed," spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said. The insurgents frequently exaggerate death tolls in their attacks and falsely have claimed responsibility for incidents before.

The last deadliest day for coalition forces was Dec. 17, 2013, when a helicopter crash killed six U.S. service members.

The helicopter crash came as an Afghan university official identified two Americans killed in a shooting at a Kabul hospital earlier this week, the latest incident of local security forces opening fire on those they are supposed to protect.

The NATO force is preparing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan at the end of this year, 13 years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban's hard-line Islamic regime for sheltering Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders.

First published April 26 2014, 7:23 AM

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5 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash