At least 16 civilians were killed when a helicopter crashed near a military base in southern Afghanistan.
The civilian-contracted aircraft was not shot down by insurgents, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said, but gave no details on what caused the crash in war-torn Kandahar province.
It is the second fatal helicopter crash in Afghanistan in a week.
The helicopter, a Russian-built Mi-8, crashed at Kandahar's main air base, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.
