Helicopter crashes in Afghanistan, killing three

Kabul, Sept 02 (AP): An Afghan official says a foreign pilot and two Afghan soldiers were killed when a helicopter contracted by NATO crashed inside an army base.

Maj Hanif Rezaie, an army spokesman, says three others, including another foreign pilot, were wounded when the MI-14 helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff from the base near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Rezaie says the crash was caused by a technical problem and the helicopter caught fire after it hit the ground.