31 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghan Chopper Crash

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

A total of 31 members of the U.S. special forces have died in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan along with seven Afghans, a statement from Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said Saturday.

"The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai expressed condolences over a NATO helicopter crash and the deaths of 31 members of U.S. special forces," the statement said.

Afghan provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the helicopter crashed in the Sayd Abad district of Wardak province. The volatile region borders the province of Kabul where the Afghan capital is located and is known for its strong Taliban presence.

NATO said the alliance was conducting a recovery operation Saturday at the site and investigating the cause of the crash, but did not release details or a casualty figure.

"We are aware of an incident involving a helicopter in eastern Afghanistan," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman. "We are in the process of accessing the facts."

NATO said insurgents were in the area at the time of the crash.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the downed aircraft was a U.S. military helicopter and that the Taliban fighters had brought it down with a rocket attack.

In a written statement released Saturday, Mujahid said that NATO attacked a house in Sayd Abad where insurgent fighters were gathering Friday night.

Mujahid said the Taliban fired on NATO and downed the helicopter, killing all the crew. He said eight insurgents also died. The Taliban often exaggerates casualty numbers in their statements to the media.

Comments 6
Default-user-icon xen (Guest) 06 August 2011, 12:32

may there souls rest in peace & god protect the others

Default-user-icon Someone (Guest) 06 August 2011, 23:10

Hopefully more to come! Invaders will be obliterated!

Default-user-icon pong lenis (Guest) 07 August 2011, 01:00

So now it's "crashed" as opposed to "shot down"....

I wonder how many innocent Afghany civilians have died at the hands of these 31...

Default-user-icon Le Phenicien (Guest) 07 August 2011, 18:59

God bless the magnificent Taliban and Al Qaeda fellow Jihadists , kill all the infidels on Muslim lands !

Missing rudy 07 August 2011, 19:09

Phenicien u need help. u and all your personalities above.

Missing startrip 07 August 2011, 20:32

rudy,
Please don't discourage Le Big Phlegm from posting. Please!

He's the local entertainment and our pet gadfly.

Besides, he demonstrates with unintended eloquence the derangement of the pro-Hezbollah crowd. He can do with just a few sentences (that might sound incoherent to you and me) much much more than any of us can do to highlight the inhumanity of the Iran/Assad/Hezbollah clan.

So, please... encourage him and keep him ours.