Over 20 Navy Seals from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan have been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan after the Taliban allegedly shot down a Nato helicopter conveying them.

They were attached to the US special force (Seal Team Six) but met their waterloo as they were being flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The team include 22 Seals, three Air Force air controllers, seven Afghan Army troops, a dog and his handler, and a civilian interpreter, plus the helicopter crew.

Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in a statement expressed condolences over the Nato helicopter crash and the deaths of members of the US special forces just as a senior US official confirmed the helicopter was shot down by insurgents.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the incident as its spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said it was responsible for shooting down the helicopter and acknowledged that eight insurgents had been killed.