6 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Crash Of Helicopter In Afghanistan

New York Times: 6 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Crash Of Helicopter In Afghanistan

December 17, 2013
The New York Times
By AZAM AHMED and THOM SHANKER
 
KABUL, Afghanistan — Six American soldiers died Tuesday when their helicopter crashed in a remote area of southern Afghanistan, in the single largest loss of life for foreign troops in nearly six months, international coalition officials said.

At least one crash survivor was rescued by a quick reaction force of American and Afghan soldiers, according to military officials.

Although Pentagon and military officials said there were initial indications of militants in the area after the helicopter crashed, by late Tuesday officials said it did not appear that there was any insurgent presence during or after the crash.

A Taliban spokesman said militants had shot down the helicopter, an American Black Hawk transport. But military and local Afghan officials said that initial reports indicated that mechanical failure was a factor.

Afghan officials said the crash happened around 4 p.m. in the Shajoe district of Zabul Province.

“The area is not fully safe — there is enemy movement there, and it is also surrounded by mountains and covered with forest,” said Ghulam Jilani Khan, provincial security chief for Zabul, which shares a border with Pakistan. “The information we have so far is that it crashed because of technical problems.”

The last such major loss to coalition forces was in June, when a truck bomb exploded near a military base in northern Helmand, claiming the lives of seven Georgian soldiers.

Throughout the war, bad weather or technical problems have been the most common causes of helicopter crashes, despite Taliban claims of responsibility in many of them.

In March of this year, five American soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed in Kandahar. A month later, another crash killed two American soldiers, this time in Nangarhar. Neither was found to have been caused by the Taliban.

But the Taliban have shot down helicopters before.

The single deadliest day of the war for American forces came in August 2011 when Taliban fighters brought down an American Chinook transport helicopter with rocket-propelled grenades, killing all 38 people aboard. Thirty of those killed in the attack were Americans, including 22 members of a Navy SEAL team; the other eight were Afghan soldiers.

Azam Ahmed reported from Kabul, and Thom Shanker from Washington. Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan.