Six US occupation troops were killed on Thursday as their helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan.

Six US occupation troops were killed on Thursday as their helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan.

Officials said the helicopter, a CH-53 Sea Stallion, went down in the volatile Helmand province, adding that the crash was not a result of enemy fire.
"Initial indications are that this was not hostile fire”, US official indicated.

The dead were members of the US military, another US official told Agence France Press.

In a brief statement, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the cause of the crash was "under investigation."
"However, initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash," it said.

The Sea Stallion is a heavy transport aircraft capable of carrying about 40 people. The US officials did not say whether anyone else was on board, other than the six victims.

An ISAF spokesman told AFP in Kabul that the crash occurred late on Thursday local time.