US Helicopter with 17 on board Shot Down in Afghanistan
29/06/2005| IslamWeb
A US helicopter which crashed in Afghanistan with 17 service members on board was likely shot down, the military says.
American officials said they did not know the fate of those on board the Chinook, which came down during an anti-Al-Qaeda mission in the mountainous, insurgency-plagued eastern province of Kunar.
The Taliban militia, claimed responsibility for shooting down the giant troop transporting helicopter.
"Seventeen service members were on board the CH-47 helicopter that crashed in mountainous terrain west of Asadabad on June 28," a US military statement said.
"Initial reports indicate the crash may have been caused by hostile fire. The status of the service members is unknown at this time."
US warplanes were circling the wreckage and American-led and Afghan troops guarded the site against further militant attacks while rescuers searched for possible survivors, the military said.
"The helicopter was transporting forces into the area as part of Operation Red Wing, which is part of the enduring fight to defeat Al-Qaeda militants and deny them influence in Kunar province," the US military added.
"Operation Red Wing continues in Kunar."
Kunar, sitting at the foot of the Hindu Kush mountain range, has been a traditional stronghold of Taliban.
The provincial governor Asadullah Wafa was quoted as saying by the Afghan Islamic Press, based in Pakistan, that a rocket was fired at the US helicopter in the Wattapur region of the province.
A Chinook carrying 18 people, three of them civilians, went down in an accident in bad weather April killing all on board. It was the worst air crash suffered by US forces in Afghanistan.
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