All 16 people aboard were killed when a helicopter crashed in the eastern Paktia province of Afghanistan, a coalition spokesman told Xinhua Thursday.

The tragedy occurred in a region infested by Taliban insurgents, who have claimed responsibility for it.

The Russian-made MI8 helicopter crashed on Wednesday in the mountainous region of southeastern Pakita, near its border with Khost province, killing all 16 on board, said Maj. Matthew Hackathorn, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition forces.

The cause of the accident was unknown, he said, adding 12 bodies had been recovered, and the rest were expected to be found later Thursday.

Hackathorn said he didn't have information about the victims' nationality.

However, the Dutch defense ministry had said two Dutch soldiers, from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, were among the dead.

The soldiers, a lieutenant colonel and a sergeant, were to observe the security system at a military camp to see whether it was adaptable to a camp that Dutch forces are constructing in the southern province of Uruzgan.

Over 1,500 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan, with most in Uruzgan. They had so far not suffered any fatalities.

Local reports said military sources in Kabul said two Americans were also killed in the crash.

There is confusing information about who operates the helicopter.

Hackathorn said it belonged to the Afghan government in his understanding, while earlier reports said it was a UN helicopter.

However, Jamil Danish, assistant spokesman to UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, told Xinhua it wasn't owned by the UN, but by the International Medical Corps, a humanitarian relief organization providing non-profit medical services worldwide.

The organization has also rejected it runs the helicopter.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement the helicopter crashed on its way to Kabul, capital of this country, minutes after it took off from Khost airport at 1:30 p.m. (0900 GMT) Wednesday.

The ministry said coalition air forces and Afghan ground troops had located the wreckage and secured the area.

In the past, the Taliban has occasionally claimed it shot down coalition helicopters, but was nearly always denied by coalition forces.

Source: Xinhua