Around the World: Afghanistan

US chopper shot down

Insurgents shot down a US helicopter after exchanging fire with its crew in central Afghanistan yesterday, while a suicide bomber in the north killed two US soldiers inside a police station, officials said.

The helicopter was forced down in Wardak, one province west of Kabul, after insurgents hit it with gunfire yesterday, said Walter Matthew, a US military spokesman. The crew survived and have been extracted from the area, he said.