*KABUL – Afghan military helicopter crashed in western Afghanistan, killingall five people on board, including the pilot.*

A wave of assaults by Taliban militants in recent weeks has forced Afghanand foreign forces to make far greater use of air transport to move troopsand supplies, but inadequate training and poor planning have led tofrequent crashes.

The latest crash was caused by technical difficulties rather than amilitant attack, said Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the governor of Farahprovince, site of the accident.

“The helicopter crashed due to a technical issue, not due to Taliban fire,”Mehri said.