US troops killed 12 Taliban to secure a Black Hawk helicopter shot down by Taliban insurgents in central Afghanistan, the US military said in a statement on Tuesday. The chopper had to land on Monday in the Wardak province to the west of Kabul, after a rocket-propelled grenade struck its tail, the statement said. The aircraft and the crew of ten were recovered safely, it said, adding the coalition forces responding to the attack killed 12 Taliban and detained one. Taliban are rarely able to bring down helicopters in Afghanistan, but have forced aircraft to make a number of emergency landings. There are roughly 60,000-70,000 international soldiers in the country helping Afghan forces fight Taliban.