Taliban says it shot down NATO chopper, 35 killed

KABUL, May 31 (Reuters) Afghanistan's Taliban claimed responsibility today for shooting down a NATO heavy-lift helicopter and said that 35 soldiers were killed, many more than the seven dead announced by the Western military alliance.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said the death toll came from secret sources operating in the southern province of Helmand, scene of a series of bloody clashes in recent months between Taliban and Western forces.

He said the twin-rotor Chinook was flying low ahead of a land vehicle convoy when it was shot down.

''Actually, Mujahideen (holy warriors) planned to ambush their convoy,'' Yousuf said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

''But the helicopter appeared before the arrival of the convoy. The mujahideen fired on it with what ever they had.'' NATO said seven soldiers, five of whom were Americans, were killed when a Chinook crashed late yesterday in Helmand. Alliance officials said it was premature to comment on how the helicopter went down, and would not say if the helicopter was directly involved in a battle with the Taliban.

Chinook crashes in Afghanistan have killed at least 55 US soldiers in the last two years.

Helmand has long been a a Taliban stronghold and it is the leading drug-producing region of Afghanistan, the world's main heroin producer.

The Kajaki region where the Chinook came down is where Afghan government and foreign officials are hoping to eliminate guerrillas in order to rebuild a dam and hydro-electric project.

When completed, the project is expected to vastly increase electric power in the province and spur development.

Taliban leaders have threatened in recent weeks to step up attacks on foreign troops and said they have trained hundreds of suicide bombers to carry out attacks.

Last year's fighting between Western forces and the militants was the bloodiest since the US-led overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.

The guerrillas are largely active in southern and eastern areas of Afghanistan, where more than 5,000 people have been killed in the past 16 months. The violence is rising despite the presence of nearly 50,000 foreign troops led by NATO and the US military as well as about 100,000 Afghan security forces.

Reuters AGL DB1256