Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

Chopper crash kills 2 US service members

Two US service members were killed on Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, the US military said. A statement said the cause of the crash is under investigation but that preliminary reports do not indicate the crash was caused by enemy fire. However, the Taliban promptly claimed to have shot down the Chinook helicopter in eastern Logar Province, causing many fatalities. The US military dismissed the Taliban claim as false. The crash brought the number of US deaths in Afghanistan this year to 19. There have also been three noncombat deaths this year. More than 2,400 US soldiers have died in the near-18-year war.

PAKISTAN

Sharif goes to UK for medical treatment

Pakistan's ailing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was convicted of corruption, left the country on Tuesday to travel to London for medical treatment. The 69-year-old, who served three times as prime minister but fell from grace after the Supreme Court ousted him from office over corruption allegations two years ago, has had a history of health problems, including heart disease. He departed on a specially equipped medical plane from the city of Lahore, after a court granted him permission to leave for four weeks abroad for medical treatment. Sharif has always maintained his innocence and denies the corruption charges.

THE NETHERLANDS

Migrants found in refrigerated container

A ferry crew found 25 migrants in a refrigerated container on a boat sailing from the Netherlands to Britain on Tuesday, emergency services said. The cargo vessel bound for Felixstowe returned to the Dutch port of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam, as soon as the stowaways were found, they said in a statement. The people found in the container received medical attention at the port and two were taken to a hospital for further treatment for possible hypothermia. Their nationalities were not immediately known. The driver of the truck had been arrested.