Spanish minister visits Afghanistan after crash

Jose Bono, the Spanish defence minister, arrived in Afghanistan today to visit the site where a helicopter crashed killing 17 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) peacekeepers from Spain. Bono has not ruled out that the chopper may have been brought down by hostile fire.

A second Cougar helicopter that carried Spanish troops flying nearby spotted a column of black smoke rising from the scene and, suspecting there may have been hostile fire, made an emergency landing that slightly wounded five soldiers. The helicopters were involved in an exercise ahead of Afghan parliamentary polls next month.

ISAF believes the crash was an accident. Mullah Dadullah, the senior Taliban commander, said guerrillas had shot down the helicopter but offered no proof. - Reuters