Seven NATO soldiers died after their helicopter was allegedly shot down by Taliban militants in the southern province of Helmand on Wednesday, the International Security Assistance Force announced.

A Chinook CH-47 went down during a night operation near the city of Kajaki, five of the crew members and two other soldiers being killed on the spot. The ISAF didn’t exclude the possibility of insurgents shooting down the large aircraft, as the militants claimed the attack on the twin-rotor helicopter Thursday.

The military unit sent to investigate the crash came under heavy fire from insurgents, additional air support being called in.

The exact cause of the crash wasn’t established yet, but the Taliban fighters continue to claim responsibility for it and said more than 30 servicemen who were on board were killed. But the ten-tone aircraft can carry 33 persons plus the three crew members, a technical fact that reveals once more the exaggerated figures frequently announced by the insurgents.

This is the third crash reported in 2007, 24 soldiers and crew members being killed in the incidents. Most of them were Americans, as the identity of the recent killed soldiers wasn’t revealed.