Six reported dead as US helicopter is shot down
An American army helicopter, possibly a twin rotor Chinook, has been shot down over eastern Afghanistan with ‘‘multiple fatalities,’’ Defence Department sources said today.
CNN reported that six had died.
The Army helicopter was taking part in an assault on suspected al-Qaida and Taliban fighters the Pentagon says were regrouping south of Gardez.
It was the first American aircraft brought down by enemy fire in the Afghan war, following accidental crashes of other craft since the anti-terror campaign opened in October.
The Chinook is the workhorse of the US army and is capable of carrying 33 troops into combat.
CNN reported that it was believed that not all on board were killed.
Pentagon officials declined to give details, indicating they were unsure whether a search-and-rescue mission for the troops had been completed.
The helicopter was brought down as the largest coalition force assembled so far in the campaign.
More than 1,500 troops from the US, Afghanistan and at least six other nations have engaged an several hundred al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in intense gun battles backed by air strikes.
Before today’s incident, the casualty toll in the operation stood at one American and three Afghans killed and an undisclosed number injured.
Until today, 20 US military personnel have died since the Afghan campaign began. The most deadly incident came on January 9 when six Marines were killed when their tanker plane crashed into a Pakistan mountain .
n the latest fighting, US Chinook helicopters were ferrying supplies to American and other troops in the hills following the start of the coalition ground attack in the area.
In addition to allied Afghan fighters and US special forces, troops from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany and Norway were participating.
The assault was believed to be the largest joint US-Afghan military operation of the war. Pro-US Afghan troops approached the hide-outs from three directions to isolate the fighters and prevent them from escaping.
Safi Ullah, a member of the Gardez town council, or shura, said the first stage of the offensive was designed to cut the road from Shah-e-Kot to trap al-Qaida and Taliban forces in the mountains. He said the plan also involved setting up checkpoints to prevent them from getting out.
Pakistan has closed its border with eastern Afghanistan and deployed extra army units and members of the Khasadar tribal militia to catch any who try to cross the frontier and filter into its Northwest Frontier Province.
