Copter shot down, killing 30 US troops, 7 Afghans

[Guest guest]

http://news.yahoo.com/copter-shot-down-killing-30-us-troops-7-213158998.html

Copter shot down, killing 30 US troops, 7 Afghans

By KIMBERLY DOZIER - Associated Press,SOLOMON MOORE - Associated Press | AP – 57

mins ago

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during

fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to

the same elite Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as seven

Afghan commandos, U.S. officials said Saturday. It was the deadliest single loss

for American forces in the decade-old war.

The downing was a stinging blow to the lauded, tight-knit SEAL Team 6, months

after its crowning achievement. It was also a heavy setback for the U.S.-led

coalition as it begins to draw down thousands of combat troops fighting what has

become an increasingly costly and unpopular war.

None of the 22 SEAL personnel killed in the crash were part of the team that

killed bin Laden in a May raid in Pakistan, but they belonged to the same unit.

Their deployment in the raid in which the helicopter crashed would suggest that

the target was a high-ranking insurgent figure.

Special operations forces, including the SEALs and others, have been at the

forefront in the stepped up strategy of taking out key insurgent leaders in

targeted raids, and they will be relied on even more as regular troops pull out.

The strike is also likely to boost the morale of the Taliban in a key province

that controls a strategic approach to the capital Kabul. The Taliban claimed

they downed the helicopter with a rocket while it was taking part in a raid on a

house where insurgents were gathered in the province of Wardak overnight.

Wreckage of the craft was strewn across the crash site, a Taliban spokesman

said.

A senior U.S. administration official in Washington said it appeared the craft

had been shot down. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the

crash is still being investigated.

" 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, " President Barack Obama said in a statement, adding that his

thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who perished.

The U.S.-led coalition said in a statement that 30 American service members, a

civilian interpreter and seven Afghan commandos were killed when their CH-47

Chinook crashed in the early hours Saturday. A current U.S. official and a

former U.S. official said the Americans included 22 SEALs, three Air Force

combat controllers and a dog handler and his dog. The two spoke on condition of

anonymity because military officials were still notifying the families of the

dead.

Geneva Vaughn of Union City, Tennessee, told The Associated Press on Saturday

that her grandson Carson Vaughn, a Tennessee native, was one of the SEALs

who was killed.

Jon Tumilson of Rockford, Iowa, was also among the SEALs killed in the attack,

his father Tumilson told The Des Moines Register.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the number of people killed in the crash

and the presence of special operations troops before any other public figure. He

also offered his condolences to the American and Afghan troops killed in the

crash.

The deaths bring to 365 the number of coalition troops killed this year in

Afghanistan and 42 this month.

The overnight raid took place in the Tangi Joy Zarin area of Wardak's Sayd Abad

district, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul. Forested peaks in

the region give the insurgency good cover and the Taliban have continued to use

it as a base despite repeated NATO assaults.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that the helicopter was

involved in an assault on a house where insurgent fighters were gathering.

During the battle, the fighters shot down the helicopter with a rocket, he said.

An American official in Brussels said the helicopter was a twin-rotor Chinook, a

large troop and cargo transporter.

The casualties are believed to be largest loss of life in the history of SEAL

Team Six, officially called the Navy Special Warfare Development Group, or

DEVGRU. The team is considered the best of the best among the already elite

SEALs, which numbers 3,000 personnel.

NPR and ABC News first reported that those aboard were believed to be Navy

SEALs. The AP withheld the report at the request of their sources until they

believed the majority of families of those lost had been notified.

The death toll surpasses the previous worst single day loss of life for the

U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 — the June 28,

2005 downing of a military helicopter in eastern Kunar province.

In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed

when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under

attack by the Taliban. Three of the SEALs being rescued were also killed and the

fourth wounded.

Afghanistan has more U.S. special operations troops, about 10,000, than any

other theater of war. The forces, often joined by Afghan troops, carry out as

many as a dozen raids a night and have become one of the most effective weapons

in the coalition's arsenal, also conducting surveillance and infiltration.

From April to July this year, special operations raids captured 2,941 insurgents

and killed 834, twice as many as those killed or captured in the same

three-month period of 2010, according to NATO.

The coalition plans to increase its reliance on special operations missions as

it reduces the overall number of combat troops.

Night raids have drawn criticism from human rights activists and infuriated

Karzai, who says they anger and alienate the Afghan population. But NATO

commanders have said the raids are safer for civilians than relatively imprecise

airstrikes.

The loss of so many SEALs at once will have a temporary impact on the tempo of

missions they can carry out, but with an ongoing drawdown of special operations

forces from Iraq, there will be more in reserve for Afghan missions.

The site of the crash, Tangi, is a particularly dangerous area, the site where

many of the attacks that take place in the province are planned, said Wardak's

Deputy Gov. Ali Ahmad Khashai. " Even with all of the operations conducted there,

the opposition is still active. "

The U.S. army had intended to hand over its Combat Outpost Tangi to Afghan

National Security Forces in April, but the Afghans never established a permanent

base there. " We deemed it not to be stategic and closed it, " said coalition

spokesman U.S. Army Maj. Waggoner. " The Taliban went in and occupied it

because it was vacant. "

Western military commanders have been debating moving forces from other areas in

Afghanistan to reinforce troops around the capital and in the east, where the

Taliban is often aided by al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Earlier this

year, the U.S. military closed smaller outposts in at least two eastern

provinces and consolidated its troops onto larger bases because of increased

insurgent attacks and infiltration from the Pakistan border.There have been at

least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan this year.

Most of the crashes were 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.

___

Associated Press writers Anne Gearan and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington, and

Rahim Faiez and Quinn in Kabul contributed to this report.