Afghan helicopter crash kills six

20 January 2012 Last updated at 04:02 GMT  Six Nato soldiers have been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, the worst crash since 30 soldiers died last August.

A Nato statement said the helicopter came down in the south of the country.

Nato said no insurgent activity had been reported in the area at the time. The cause of Thursday's crash is now being investigated.

No further details of the crash would be released until the families of those on board had been informed, Nato said.

"The cause of the crash is under investigation, however initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash," a spokesman from the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) led by Nato said.

Isaf has not disclosed the nationalities of those killed.

The British Ministry of Defence said there were no UK soldiers involved.

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Source: BBC and news agencies

The crash happened on the same day at least seven civilians died in a suicide attack at an airport used by international forces in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

The attacker, driving a car, detonated explosives close to a gate at the perimeter of the airport. Afghan officials said the victims included two children.

The Taliban have said they were behind the attack, which analysts say shows Kandahar's fragile security situation.

In August 2011, 30 soldiers, including 22 US Navy Seal commandos, died in a helicopter crash in the east of Afghanistan.

They were aboard a Chinook helicopter that went down in a district of Wardak province, west of Kabul. Officials, witnesses and the Taliban have said it was shot down by insurgents during a combat mission.