WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of 17 Spanish soldiers and crew in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

    US Secretary Condoleezza Rice has called Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos to express American deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and the people of Spain, McCormack said.

    "Spanish soldiers and crew serving in the NATO mission in Afghanistan are part of a humanitarian mission to bring peace and stability to the Afghan people," the spokesman added.

    Seventeen Spanish soldiers were killed earlier in the day when the helicopter carrying them crashed near the Afghan city of Herat,said the Spanish Defense Ministry.

    The cause of the chopper crash has yet to be determined. Enditem