(RTTNews) -  In one of the deadliest days of the United States' war against terrorism in Afghanistan, 14 Americans, mostly soldiers, were killed Monday in separate incidents of helicopter crashes, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

This is the biggest American casualty in the war-ravaged country in a single day.

In the deadliest incident, a U.S. helicopter went down in the west of the country after raiding a compound where suspected militants involved in narcotics trade were located. 10 Americans, including seven troops and three civilians working for Afghan government, were killed, ISAF said in a statement. It did not specify location of the incident.

14 Afghan service members, 11 U.S. service personnel and one U.S. civilian were injured in the crash.

More than a dozen militants were killed in a firefight when they confronted the joint force.

Although the military said it did not suspect enemy action behind the crash, Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmedi claimed its fighters shot down a helicopter in northwest Badghis province's Darabam district.

In a separate incident in the south, four US soldiers died and two others wounded when two helicopters collided mid-air, ISAF said.
"The incident is currently being investigated, but it is confirmed that hostile fire was not involved," it added.

With this, the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan this month rose to 46.

The deaths come as the White House, debating a request for 40,000 more US troops to be sent to Afghanistan, warned recently that no more soldiers would be deployed until a political crisis in the country is resolved.

Afghanistan itself is at a crossroad, with the August 20 presidential elections stymied by massive fraud. A runoff was announced for November 7 between incumbent president Hamid Karzai and his formidable challenger Abdullah Abdullah, a former Foreign Minister.

Launched by the US-led international coalition just weeks after the horrific al Qaeda terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001 to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan, the war in that south-west Asian country continues to be the biggest challenge for the Pentagon.

2009 has been the deadliest year for American military since it began anti-Taliban operations in 2001. U.S. troop casualties were at its height in August, when 51 of them were killed in militant attacks.

So far this year, 430 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan, including 262 Americans, underlining reports that overall, Afghanistan is becoming more lethal for U.S. soldiers than Iraq.

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