Update on US Chinook crash

God rest their souls: All 17 US troops in Afghan crash believed dead

KABUL (Reuters) - All 17 U.S. troops aboard an American helicopter that crashed after being hit by ground fire in an anti-militant operation in Afghanistan are believed to have died, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

The casualties from Tuesday's crash would be the heaviest for U.S. forces in an incident linked to hostile fire in Afghanistan since they invaded to overthrow the Taliban in 2001.

"We presume that all were lost," said a U.S. official in Washington, who asked not to be identified, when asked if all those aboard -- including elite U.S. Seals Special Operations troops -- had been killed in the crash.

The official told Reuters the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook was believed to have been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in mountainous terrain near the border with Pakistan, an attack claimed by Taliban guerrillas.

The U.S. military said the Chinook crashed in remote and mountainous Kunar province on Tuesday afternoon while bringing troops to reinforce soldiers in an anti-al Qaeda operation.

It was hit by ground fire as it approached its landing zone and crashed about 1-2 km (half to one mile) away, U.S. military spokesman Colonel Jim Yonts told a news briefing in Kabul.

He said fighting continued in the area on Wednesday involving a large force of U.S.-led troops and a "very determined enemy."

Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said the guerrillas shot down the aircraft in the village of Shorak using "a new type of weapon" he did not describe.

"This is a huge success for the Taliban," he said, adding that the guerrillas had video of the crash and would post photographs on their Web site (www.alemarah.com). It did not appear to have been updated on Wednesday.

I'd be curious to find out what this so-called "new type of weapon" is that they've supposedly acquired.

Posted by Kyer at June 29, 2005 03:23 PM