[naviga:h3]U.S. chopper crash in S. Korea kills 2[/naviga:h3]

SEOUL, South Korea — A U.S. military helicopter crashed in South Korea today killing two people on board, police said.

The AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed on a road about 80 miles east of Seoul, a police officer said.

Two bodies were recovered from the wreckage but officials couldn’t immediately confirm their identities. There were no reports of casualties on the ground.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited unidentified officials as saying the helicopter may have hit high-voltage power lines or a nearby steel tower because wires were found near the crashed aircraft and the upper part of the tower was damaged.

The U.S. Army command in Seoul couldn’t immediately confirm the crash.

About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as deterrence against possible aggression from North Korea.

[naviga:h3]Controversial shrine rocked by explosion[/naviga:h3]

TOKYO — An explosion today damaged a public restroom at a controversial shrine in Tokyo that honors Japanese war dead, with police suspecting foul play. No one was injured.

The Yasukuni shrine, which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including executed war criminals, has been the target of criticism from China and South Korea, which suffered from Japan’s World War II atrocities.

Tokyo police said in a statement that they received a call about an explosion and smoke at Yasukuni. They said they suspected a “guerrilla” attack, implying some kind of subversive activity, but declined to elaborate.

Firefighters were also called to the scene and found the ceiling and walls of the restroom had been damaged.