The helicopter left Kandahar for the Tirin Kot NATO base in Oruzgan Province on December 2, but later lost contact.
A NATO spokesman could not confirm or deny the Taliban statement. It is not clear how many people were on board.
(AFP, AP)
The Afghan Insurgency
A U.S. military vehicle damaged by insurgents near Kandahar (epa)
HOMEGROWN OR IMPORTED? As attacks against Afghan and international forces continue relentlessly, RFE/RL hosted a briefing to discuss the nature of the Afghan insurgency. The discussion featured Marvin Weinbaum, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and RFE/RL Afghanistan analyst Amin Tarzi.
LISTEN
Listen to the entire briefing (about 83 minutes):Real Audio Windows Media