NATO in Afghanistan said Sunday it was probing the Taliban’s claim that they shot down a helicopter, killing 30 American troops, including special forces, who were targeting militants. Seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter were also among the dead when the Chinook helicopter plummeted after a firefight with the insurgents late Friday in Wardak province, southwest of the capital Kabul.
The crash site had been sealed off by Sunday, with reports that fighting was still going on in the area where a rocket propelled grenade is thought to have downed the aircraft. The incident was the biggest single loss of life for foreign forces since an American-led invasion toppled the Taliban from power in 2001 several weeks after the September 11 attacks in the United States. A witness said the crash followed a raid on a Taliban commander’s home. “Afghan and foreign troops are still in the area,” provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told AFP on Sunday. “The area is sealed off and we have reports of sporadic fighting.
“The phones are not working in the area,” he said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and local and Afghan army authorities said an insurgent rocket had brought the chopper down. The NATO-led ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission in the troubled country, confirmed an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the deadly crash.
“Additional details will be provided as they become available,” ISAF said in a statement. US President Barack Obama paid tribute to those who died and said the incident was a reminder of the “extraordinary sacrifices” made by the men and women of the military and their families.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vowed the US would “stay the course” in Afghanistan despite the latest loss. There are currently around 140,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, around 100,000 of them from the US. All international combat troops are due to leave by the end of 2014 but intense violence in recent months has raised questions over the prospects for Afghan forces as they take over.
Some foreign troop withdrawals have already begun as part of a transition that has already seen Afghan security forces take control of key regions this summer. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office was first to officially release the death toll on Saturday and he offered condolences to the victims’ families. US television networks reported that 25 of the dead in Friday’s attack were US Navy SEALs.
