KABUL, Afghanistan — Seven American troops and four Afghans died in a Black Hawk helicopter crash on Thursday in southern Afghanistan, the NATO military coalition said. The Taliban claimed their fighters shot down the aircraft.

NATO said it is investigating the cause of the crash. The coalition had no immediate comment on the insurgents' claim that they shot down the helicopter.

Officials in Kandahar province said the helicopter went down in the north of the province. Kandahar is a traditional Taliban stronghold and the spiritual birthplace of the hardline Islamist movement that ruled Afghanistan before being ousted in 2001 by the U.S.-led alliance for sheltering al-Qaida's terrorist leaders.