Military Contractor Helicopter Missing in Afghanistan

 

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KABUL — A helicopter belonging to an international military contractor has disappeared in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday.

 

The Supreme Global Service Solutions helicopter has been missing since late Tuesday, said NATO spokesman Maj. Steven Coll.

 

Supreme provides food and logistics services to military bases across Afghanistan. A Kabul representative for the Virginia-based company declined to comment and press officers elsewhere could not be immediately reached.

 

Police and international military forces were searching for the craft in eastern Logar province's Kharwar district, provincial government spokesman Din Mohammad Darwirsh said. He said they did not have any confirmation of a crash and no wreckage had been located.

 

"It's missing, but that's all we know right now," Coll said. He confirmed that NATO forces are helping in the search, but said he could not provide information about how many people were aboard the helicopter or their nationalities.

 

Kharwar is in a remote area of Logar province south of the capital, Kabul. Until a few months ago, there was virtually no government or military presence there.

 

An American unit — the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, New York — is there now with Afghan army and police forces.

 

Separately, authorities increased security in Kabul ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid, which starts Friday.

 

The Interior Ministry said 10,000 police were providing security around mosques, family gathering places and elevated areas overlooking the city, and it called on residents to report suspicious activity.