UK soldier dies in Afghan air crash

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The British serviceman was among seven people to die when the Chinook aircraft came down in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province.

"It was a hostile area, where the helicopter went down," said Major John Thomas, a spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force. "Initial indications are that enemy fire may have brought down the helicopter."

Other troops going to the scene were ambushed and had to call in air support to drive off their attackers.

US officials also said initial reports suggested the helicopter was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade on Wednesday evening.

The CH-47 Chinook was carrying a crew of five Americans and two military passengers, one British, the other Canadian, according to the US military.

Major Thomas said that the wreckage remains on the site, which has been secured by Nato troops.

"There will be a full investigation," he said. "We will try to determine everything that happened and to fully investigate the site."

The Ministry of Defence said it was still gathering details of the incident and had yet to confirm the death of the soldier.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, claimed militants shot the helicopter down in southern Helmand, the world's largest opium poppy-growing region, where combat has been heavy in recent months. Ahmadi said the helicopter crashed in the Kajaki district hours before Nato reported that information.