NATO Not Confirming That U.S. Helicopter in Afghanistan Flew Into Taliban Trap

(CNSNews.com) -- The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force-Afghanistan (ISAF) says it has no information yet to validate whether the U.S. Chinook helicopter that crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. troops, flew into a Taliban ambush.

It was reported by AFP news agency that an unnamed Afghan official had said the Taliban, working with some Pakistanis, lured the U.S. forces into a trap to shoot down the helicopter. CNSNews.com asked the ISAF if that report was accurate.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings Jr., a spokesman for ISAF, responded by e-mail, saying, “I have seen a number of media stories stating this allegation. We have no initial information as of yet to validate that this was some kind of ambush or trap, but with that said, the helicopter incident is still under investigation for the cause of the crash.”