‘Hostile fire may have downed US Chinook in Afghanistan’

An American military helicopter transporting troops that crashed in a rugged area of eastern Afghanistan may have been brought down by hosti...

An American military helicopter transporting troops that crashed in a rugged area of eastern Afghanistan may have been brought down by hostile fire, the Military said on Wednesday.

The fate of the 17 servicemen aboard was not known, the military said in a statement, which described the incident as ‘‘a tragic event’’. The servicemen included Special Operations troops, military officials.

The servicemen were on a mission against Al Qaeda fighters, the Military said, when the MH-17 helicopter went down on Tuesday west of the city of Asadabad in Kunar province.

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Recent enemy activity in the area has been described ‘‘as a series of harassing attacks and intelligence-gathering activities against Afghan and US forces’’, the statement posted on Central Command’s website said.

Those aboard the helicopter included a team of Navy Seal commandos, Military officials said. The statement issued on Wednesday said coalition and Afghan forces had ‘‘quickly moved into position around the crash to block any enemy movement toward or away from the site’’, and that coalition support aircraft were overhead.

‘‘This is a tragic event for all of us, and our hearts and prayers go out to the families, loved ones and service members still fighting in the area,’’ said Brig. Gen. Greg Champion of the Army, Deputy Commanding General of Combined Joint Task Force-76.

An Afghan man claiming to be a spokesman for the Taliban movement, Mullah Latif Hakimi, told The Associated Press that Taliban fighters had shot down the aircraft. The provincial governor, Asadullah Wafa, also said the Taliban were responsible. American officials did not confirm reports of Taliban involvement.

—NYT