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A helicopter was shot down today by Afghan insurgents as it was rushing to aid troops
in a firefight, killing 30 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs, most of whom belonged
to Team 6, the unit whose members were involved in the raid that killed Osama bin
Laden. The Chinook helicopter was carrying a quick-reaction force to provide back-up
to the troops on the ground in the eastern Afghan province of Wardak. After the crash,
the forces that were involved in the firefight “broke contact” with the enemy so they
could go provide perimeter security for the crash site. Additional forces were then
sent to secure the crash site. It’s unclear how far away the helicopter was from the
initial firefight when it went down and unclear how the troops in the firefight got to
the crash location. In addition to the 30 Americans, the official said there were seven
Afghan army soldiers and an interpreter on the helicopter. The Taliban claimed to
have shot the helicopter down. On July 25, a Chinook was hit by a rocket propelled
grenade fired by the Taliban. It launched in the belly of the aircraft which made a
hard landing and only two soldiers were injured in that attack but this time all on
board were killed. Saturday’s deaths bring the total number of coalition troops killed
in Afghanistan to 334 this year. The last worst one-day U.S. casuality record in
Afghanistan was on June 28, 2005 when 16 U.S. soldiers were killed in Kunar province
after a helicopter was shot down by Taliban insurgents. Afghan President Karzai’s
office released a statement on the incident. “A NATO helicopter crashed last night in
Wardak province,” Karzai said in the statement. “President Karzai expressed his deep
condolences because of this incident and expressed his sympathy to Barack Obama.”
President Obama offered his thoughts and prayers to those killed in the crash. “Their
deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of
our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan,” Obama
said in a statement. “We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work
of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied. We also
mourn the Afghans who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and
hopeful future for their country. At this difficult hour, all Americans are united in sup-
port of our men and women in uniform who serve so that we can live in freedom and
security.”
