Investigation into helicopter crash

German military aviation experts have arrived in the Afghan capital Kabul to investigate the cause of a helicopter crash which killed all seven German peacekeepers on board.

A spokesman for the 4,800-strong multinational peacekeeping force said two Afghan children earlier reported killed in Saturday's crash in eastern Kabul were confirmed alive.

The crash came the same day as unidentified attackers killed a US soldier in a firefight on the eastern border with Pakistan, the first US combat death in Afghanistan since August.

German Brigadier General Werner Freers, commander of the 1,280 German peacekeeping contingent, said the team of military experts from the Bundeswehr Flight Safety Agency in Germany would examine the wreckage.

He said a separate team of peacekeepers would analyse flight recordings made at Kabul airport's control tower which might contain final emergency calls from the crew.