Planning hitch halts US aid air drops
US cargo jets failed to drop humanitarian aid over Afghanistan overnight after planners ran into complications.
In four overnight missions C-17 Globemaster jets have dropped about 150,000 food packets over four regions, said Lieutenant Colonel Ed Loomis, spokesman for US European Command in Germany.
‘‘We did have a mission planned for last evening, but ... in the planning and execution phase they made a decision to postpone due to complications that came up,’’ Loomis said.
He declined to elaborate, citing security concerns, but said the delay wouldn’t affect the overall mission. He also refused to say when the flights would resume.
‘‘The intent is to drop the 500,000 rations to the people that need them, and we’re going to do it in a way that will ensure we safeguard the safety of the crews and our success in delivering the rations to the right regions,’’ Loomis said.
