A bomb attack injured three U.S. soldiers and their Afghan interpreter in southeastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday. Three American airmen were also hospitalized after a helicopter crash. One of the soldiers was in critical condition after the attack Wednesday in Nika district of Paktika province, about 175 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Kabul, a military statement said. Two Humvee vehicles were destroyed in the blast, caused by a homemade bomb, it said. All the wounded were taken to Camp Salerno, a U.S. military base in neighboring Khost province, for medical treatment. The airmen were injured when their helicopter crashed as it was flying an injured Afghan election worker to a hospital, a military spokeswoman said. Technical problems _ not hostile fire _ brought the HH-60 helicopter down in Herat province late Wednesday, Lt. Col. Pam Keeton said.
