Helicopter in which 38 people died 'shot down'
Source: Agencies |
August 9, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A HELICOPTER that crashed three days ago, killing 38 people in the worst single incident in 10 years of war in Afghanistan, was carrying elite troops sent to help comrades in a battle when it was probably hit by a rocket fired by the Taliban, NATO forces said yesterday.
In the first official indication of a possible cause of the crash late on Friday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said the Chinook was fired on "by an insurgent rocket-propelled grenade while transporting the US service members and commandos to the scene of an ongoing engagement."
The operation had begun earlier, when ISAF troops searching for a Taliban leader in the Tangi Valley, surrounded by rugged mountains in central Maidan Wardak province about 80 kilometers southwest of Kabul, were engaged by insurgents.
Several of the insurgents were killed before assistance was requested, ISAF said in a statement.
It added: "As the insurgents continued to fire, the combined force on the ground requested additional forces. Those additional personnel were in-bound when the helicopter carrying them crashed, killing all on board."
Thirty US troops - some from the Navy's special forces Seal Team 6, the unit credited with killing Osama bin Laden in May - seven Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter were killed.
None of the Seals who died had taken part in the raid that killed bin Laden.
The Taliban claimed on Saturday to have shot the heli-copter down.
ISAF imposed a security blockade on the area while bodies were recovered.
Senior ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carsten Jacobsen advised people "not to try to approach the site of the crash while the investigation is ongoing."
Violence is at its worst in Afghanistan since US-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in late 2001. There were high levels of foreign troop deaths and record civilian casualties during the first six months of this year.
At least another seven ISAF troops were killed over the weekend. Four died in two separate attacks on Sunday, including two French legionnaires.
Earlier yesterday, another Nato helicopter crashed in Paktia province, a volatile area in Afghanistan's east, but there were no apparent casualties and no enemy activity in the area, ISAF said.
The deaths came barely two weeks after foreign troops began the first phase of a gradual process to hand security responsibility over to Afghan soldiers and police. That process is due to end with the last foreign combat troops leaving at the end of 2014.
In the first official indication of a possible cause of the crash late on Friday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said the Chinook was fired on "by an insurgent rocket-propelled grenade while transporting the US service members and commandos to the scene of an ongoing engagement."
The operation had begun earlier, when ISAF troops searching for a Taliban leader in the Tangi Valley, surrounded by rugged mountains in central Maidan Wardak province about 80 kilometers southwest of Kabul, were engaged by insurgents.
Several of the insurgents were killed before assistance was requested, ISAF said in a statement.
It added: "As the insurgents continued to fire, the combined force on the ground requested additional forces. Those additional personnel were in-bound when the helicopter carrying them crashed, killing all on board."
Thirty US troops - some from the Navy's special forces Seal Team 6, the unit credited with killing Osama bin Laden in May - seven Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter were killed.
None of the Seals who died had taken part in the raid that killed bin Laden.
The Taliban claimed on Saturday to have shot the heli-copter down.
ISAF imposed a security blockade on the area while bodies were recovered.
Senior ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carsten Jacobsen advised people "not to try to approach the site of the crash while the investigation is ongoing."
Violence is at its worst in Afghanistan since US-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in late 2001. There were high levels of foreign troop deaths and record civilian casualties during the first six months of this year.
At least another seven ISAF troops were killed over the weekend. Four died in two separate attacks on Sunday, including two French legionnaires.
Earlier yesterday, another Nato helicopter crashed in Paktia province, a volatile area in Afghanistan's east, but there were no apparent casualties and no enemy activity in the area, ISAF said.
The deaths came barely two weeks after foreign troops began the first phase of a gradual process to hand security responsibility over to Afghan soldiers and police. That process is due to end with the last foreign combat troops leaving at the end of 2014.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
