surge update: Helicopter Crash Kills 9 in Afghanistan

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KABUL – Nine U.S.-led coalition troops were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, adding to the mounting death toll and making this year the deadliest for coalition forces in the nine-year war.

The deaths raise to 39 the number of international soldiers killed this month in Afghanistan.

Allied casualties for every month this year exceeded the previous year's monthly figures, as the surge in U.S. troops led to more combat engagements with the Taliban in more parts of the country. Dozens among the 529 coalition casualties this year were due to helicopters crashes, which were caused by Taliban fire or by accidents. According to the website icasualties.org, which tracks coalition deaths, a total of 521 allied personnel died in Afghanistan in all of 2009.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said there were "no reports of enemy fire in the area" of Tuesday's crash, in which, a coalition serviceman, an Afghan soldier and a U.S. civilian were also injured. The coalition didn't specify the area of the crash, but the spokesman of the Zabul provincial government, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, said the helicopter crashed in the Daychopan district of the province.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989304575504910658163200.html