Afghan helicopter crash kills 38

Insurgents shoot down a coalition forces helicopter in Afghanistan, killing 38.

chinook helicopter 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS)
chinook helicopter 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS)

This is a Chinook helicopter - a workhorse for coalition forces in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, a chopper like it was shot down by insurgents, killing 38 soldiers.

It was a devastating death toll - and easily the worst single incident for foreign troops in 10 years of war.

Afghan military officials say 31 of the dead were American soldiers.

The rest were members of a special Afghan commando unit.

Chinooks are commonly used as troop transport.

The one that crashed Saturday went down just west of the capital, Kabul.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility, saying they shot the helicopter down during an intense firefight.