KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AP) -- The Pentagon is identifying the nine American troops killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan earlier this week. Four were with Navy special forces and the five others were soldiers from the Army's 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.
There's still no word on what brought the chopper down. NATO says there were no reports of enemy fire in a rugged area of Zabul province where nine Americans died in a helicopter crash.
A Taliban spokesman tells The Associated Press that insurgents shot down the helicopter but the Taliban often exaggerate their claims and sometimes take credit for accidents.
It was the worst helicopter crash for the coalition in Afghanistan in four years.
Meanwhile, NATO confirmed the capture of a Taliban commander who helped supply local militants in Marjah, the site of a major coalition offensive in February. Troops also found 45 pounds of wet opium - that is, the gum collected from the plant before it is dried - which is often sold to fund the insurgency.
NATO also says 25-30 insurgents were killed in an attack on a NATO and Afghan army outpost in eastern Afghanistan.
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