'New weapon' downed US Chinook in Afghanistan
The Taliban claims to have used a new weapon to shoot down a US military helicopter in a remote region of Afghanistan.
The 17 US troops, including special forces, aboard the Chinook helicopter that crashed after being hit by ground fire in an anti-militant operation are believed to have died, a US official said.
The casualties from Tuesday's crash would be the heaviest for US 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 US official in Washington, who asked not to be identified, when asked if all those aboard - including elite US Seals Special Operations troops - had been killed in the crash.
The official said that 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.
Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said fighters 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 fighters had video of the crash and would post photographs on their web site.
More at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...6/s1403572.htm
The Taliban claims to have used a new weapon to shoot down a US military helicopter in a remote region of Afghanistan.
The 17 US troops, including special forces, aboard the Chinook helicopter that crashed after being hit by ground fire in an anti-militant operation are believed to have died, a US official said.
The casualties from Tuesday's crash would be the heaviest for US 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 US official in Washington, who asked not to be identified, when asked if all those aboard - including elite US Seals Special Operations troops - had been killed in the crash.
The official said that 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.
Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said fighters 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 fighters had video of the crash and would post photographs on their web site.
More at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...6/s1403572.htm
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