KABUL (Reuters) -- An Apache attack helicopter from Afghanistan's U.S.-led force crashed on Sunday evening while hunting insurgents who fired rockets into the main foreign military base in the Afghan south.

A crewman was killed and one injured in the crash, which occurred shortly after the aircraft took off from the base outside the southern city of Kandahar, the force said in a statement.

"The cause of the crash will be investigated, but enemy fire has been ruled out," it said.

The force declined to give the nationality of the crewmen killed and injured, a spokesman said.

A commander for the Taliban, who have intensified their insurgency this year, said by telephone from an undisclosed location that they had shot it down.

Two rockets were fired into the sprawling Kandahar base on Sunday but they caused no casualties, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said.

Seven foreign troops and three civilian workers were wounded in a rocket attack on the base on Friday.