Five U.S. Troops Killed in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

The five U.S. troops killed in the crash were in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.

Officials confirmed Tuesday that five American troops were killed Monday night in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on the deadliest day for U.S. forces so far this year, reports the Daily Mail.

Reports indicate that there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash, but an investigation is underway to shed light on how it happened. The helicopter, a UH-60 Blackhawk, went down just outside of Kandahar city in the south of the country. No one on the ground was killed.

In a separate incident on Monday, at least two U.S. special forces operations personnel were shot and killed in an insider attack by an Afghan policeman, making the death toll seven total for the day. The shooting happened shortly after a security meeting between police and American and Afghan forces. The gunman was also killed.

The U.S. has suffered from a total of 12 deaths so far this year and 297 in 2012.