Four US troops die in helicopter attack

Four American troops died when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan yesterday, military officials confirmed.

Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said the insurgents shot off two rockets to bring down the vehicle in Sangin district of Helmand Province.

Both US and British troops are operating in Helmand, part of a band of provinces across southern Afghanistan which are the Taliban's heartland.

American commanders are planning a major operation in Kandahar that they hope will turn the tide of the war in time for US troops to begin withdrawing in July 2011.