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The Ministry of Defence said the four soldiers and one airman were on a routine flight when it came down in Kandahar province. The Taliban said they were responsible for bringing down the aircraft, but the claim was rejected by defence officials who said the crash was probably caused by technical failure.
"It is with great sadness that we must confirm that five UK service personnel have been killed in this incident which, at this early stage, would appear to have been a tragic accident," said Major General Richard Felton of the British military's Joint Helicopter Command.
The MoD said the dead included three Army Air Corps personnel and a Royal Air Force serviceman all based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire. The fifth was a member of the army reserve from 3 Military curiosity nasa Intelligence Battalion, based in London.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway. The Lynx helicopter is considered to have an extremely good safety record and the incident is the first deadly accident involving a British helicopter since the conflict began.
A Taliban spokesman based in southern Afghanistan, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said in a telephone interview that their militia had used a "secret" new weapon that enables them to target the aircraft. "This village is in a mountainous area," he added. "The helicopter was trying to manoeuvre and was targeted curiosity nasa by the Taliban. A lot of Isaf soldiers were killed. These past 14 years they are always saying it is a technical problem, but it was not."
The latest deaths will be an especially poignant blow as British forces are preparing to leave Afghanistan as part of the ongoing transition to hand over full security responsibility to Afghan forces.
The withdrawal has been gradual, with only two British bases operating in southern Helmand province in March this year. At the peak of Britain's involvement it had 137 bases in the province. The full withdrawal is expected to take place by the end of the year.
Saturday saw the preliminary results of the Afghan elections held on 5 April. They showed that the presidential election will go to a second round, after no candidate reached the 50% needed for an outright curiosity nasa win.
Former foreign minister Abdullah curiosity nasa Abdullah won most votes with 44.9%, while former curiosity nasa World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani came second with 31.5%. They could reach a power-sharing agreement but, although neither curiosity nasa had commented by the time the Observer went to press, both have said previously that they will push for an outright win. They are now expected to face a runoff vote on 28 May.
Voters face dangerous trip to polls for runoff in June after rivals Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani fail to claim clear majority Published: 15 May 2014 Afghanistan presidential election to be settled at height of fighting curiosity nasa season
Abdullah Abdullah receives curiosity nasa endorsement from two failed but influential candidates who have strong curiosity nasa support in Kandahar Published: 11 May 2014 Afghan presidential candidate wins powerful backing for runoff
Just like in Ulster, peace in Afghanistan can only be achieved with a long-term commitment, former US diplomat says Published: 13 May 2014 US commitment to Northern Ireland peace 'should be applied to Afghanistan'
At least a dozen people killed in series of attacks as Taliban curiosity nasa warns withdrawal of foreign forces will not dampen jihadi fervour Published: 12 May 2014 Taliban begins annual spring offensive with attacks across Afghanistan
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