Blast kills 5 Afghan soldiers; 25 Taliban killed in separate battle

A police chief says a roadside blast has killed five Afghan soldiers in central Afghanistan. Provincial police Chief Mustapha Khan says the blast hit an Afghan army convoy late Wednesday in Logar province. Gunfire brought down a US UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in the same province on Wednesday. No US personnel were hurt. In the northwest, Badghis provincial police Chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Naizyar says Afghan and international troops killed 25 Taliban after militants ambushed an Afghan patrol in Muqur district.