KavkazCenter - NATO plane crashes South Afghanistan

NATO plane crashes South Afghanistan

An aircraft supporting Nato-led operations in Afghanistan crashed Saturday in the southern province of Kandahar, a NATO spokesman said, according to BBC.

The "aircraft, which was supporting a NATO mission, went off the radar and crashed in an open area in Kandahar," said Maj. Scott Lundy, spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, without giving further details.

No casualties have yet been reported.

Also a man blew up his car near a U.S. convoy, wounding one soldier.

It's not clear yet if the plane came down as a result of an enemy attack, Lundy said.

Experts say that war-torn Afghanistan is witnessing its bloodiest period since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2001, with much of the violence concentrated in the south.

The plane crashed about 20 km (12 miles) west of the city of Kandahar, Maj Lundy of said, adding;

"I can see three or four helicopters in the sky, and coalition forces are also arriving in the area," he said.

A Dutch F-16 fighter pilot was killed Thursday after his plane crashed in the southern province of Ghazni.

Officials described Thursday's plane crash as "an accident".

Afghan and NATO troops are engaged in major anti-Taliban operation in southern Afghanistan.

28 people, including a British soldier, were reportedly killed.

The offensive, dubbed, Operation Medusa, is targeting Taliban remnants in Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province, officials said.

"Hundreds" of NATO and Afghan troops, including police and army units, are taking part in the operation, according to spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which has been deployed a month ago in southern Afghanistan.

Taliban fighters in the area had been "hardening their defence positions and sandbagging buildings and bringing in ammunition," spokesman Major Lundy said.

"We have had indications that these Taliban fighters are of the hardcore variety as opposed to the soldiers-for-a-day we see sometimes," he told AFP.

Source: AFP