NATO copter downed; Navy SEALs among the 30 U.S. dead

[Devil Soul]

Afghan helicopter crash kills 31 US troops

A US helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan has killed 31 US soldiers, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office says.

The soldiers were special forces personnel returning to base after an operation.

It is not clear how the crash happened but the Taliban have said they shot the helicopter down.

The incident marks one of the biggest single losses for US forces in Afghanistan since 2001.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14430735

 

[Awesome]

Downed Chinook?

 

[Jango]

Downed Chinook?

could be, but a chinook is a rugged heli, V-22 Osprey maybe?

 

[Imran Khan]

damn huge lose

 

[Safriz]

sad news......so much loss of life.

which helicopter can carry that many soldiers?

 

[Donatello]

Maybe were preparing for another raid inside Pakistan?

 

[fd24]

Maybe were preparing for another raid inside Pakistan?

Whatever they were doing its a sad loss of life.31 families are going to get a visit and be told of their loss. USA get your troops out of their.

 

[Oldman1]

sad news......so much loss of life.

which helicopter can carry that many soldiers?

RIP. The chinook can carry that many. As well as the CH53.

 

[Awesome]

They took out a Chinook less than 2 weeks ago... Taliban seem to be going after the special forces.

I'm interested to know how close this was from the Pakistan border and if the special forces had any Pakistan specific reason for being in the Eastern province.

NATO confirms crash of helicopter

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO confirms that one of its helicopters has crashed in eastern Afghanistan following an operation against Taliban insurgents.

The alliance says it's conducting a recovery operation at the site and investigating the cause of the crash. It did not release details or a casualty figure.

An Afghan provincial spokesman says the helicopter went down in a volatile region bordering the province where the Afghan capital is located that is known for its strong Taliban presence.

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

A Taliban spokesman claims the downed aircraft was a U.S. military helicopter and that Taliban fighters brought it down with a rocket attack.

There have been at least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan this year. Most are attributed to pilot errors, weather conditions or mechanical failures. However, the coalition has confirmed that at least one CH-47F Chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade on July 25. Two coalition crew members were injured in that attack.

 

[Oldman1]

Maybe were preparing for another raid inside Pakistan?

Read the article before you make your own conclusions.

 

[fd24]

apparently near wardak 7 afghan soldiers were killed

 

[Oldman1]

apparantly near wadak 7 afghan soldiers were killed

Those ANA were on it.

 

[RAZA SAHI]

MOST LIKELY IT'S WARDAK, TALIBAN HAVE A GOOD PRESENCE IN THAT PROVINCE. I WAS READING A BOOK THE OTHER DAY BY THE SAME JOURNALIST WHO WROTE A MILLION BULLETS. HE HAD TRAVELD TO WARDAK FOR HIS BOOK & CONDUCTED THE INTERVIEWS WITH TALIBAN LEADERSHIP THERE, HE NOTED THAT THE TALIBAN WERE QUITE SURE IN THEIR CLAIMS THAT THEY WILL SOON GET THE CAPABILITY TO BRING DOWN THE CHOPPERS.

 

[Spring Onion]

Yup Wardak province and the provincial govt official confirmed it was hit when it was taking off

 

[Safriz]

these people are good at making botched up weapons...they may have created a new weapon to shoot down large helicopters.
stick mounted rocket launcher or donkey mounted heavy machine guns..these people are damn good at improvising.