"Today a foreign troops' helicopter went down in Nadali district near Shora area," Kamaluddin Sherzai told AFP.

"According to our local police reports the helicopter was seen on fire in the air before hitting the ground. We have no details about casualties."

A spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan said: "We are aware of an incident in the south of Afghanistan. We are gathering facts and will release more details when we have them."

Taliban insurgents claimed in a statement on their website to have shot the helicopter down.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012