Three Americans among dead in Afghan crash-reports

KABUL, July 28 (Reuters) The wife of an American contract worker and their two daughters were among at least 12 people killed when a civilian helicopter crashed in bad weather in southeast Afghanistan, media reports said.

The cause of Wednesday's crash was still being investigated, but military and civilian officials said bad flying conditions were the most likely reason the helicopter went down in a valley in rugged mountains near Khost.

Atlanta television station, WAGA-TV, said the wife and two daughters of an American contract worker were aboard the helicopter.

The daughters were aged 17 and 21.

The three women were on their way to meet him in Khost before leaving for a family vacation, according to the station's Web site.

Two Dutch soldiers also died in the crash, but the identities of the remaining people on board have not been released.

''The bodies are charred beyond recognition and the remains are mixed up,'' a Western diplomatic source said today.

The crash took place in an area where Taliban insurgents are active and at a time of increased violence in parts of the south and southeast.

A Taliban spokesman said militants had shot down the helicopter.

Insurgents have in the past claimed responsibility for such acts, but their reports have often proved unfounded.

More than a dozen helicopters have crashed in Afghanistan since US-led forces drove the Taliban from power in 2001. In the worst crash, 17 Spanish troops with the NATO-led peacekeeping operation were killed last year.

REUTERS PKS PM1805