PULI ALAM, Afghanistan, Aug 6, (Agencies): Thirty-one US special forces and seven Afghans died when the Taleban shot down their helicopter, officials said Saturday, the deadliest incident yet for foreign troops in a decade-long war.
All were killed during an anti-Taleban operation late Friday when a rocket fired by the insurgents struck their Chinook helicopter in Wardak province, southwest of the capital Kabul, as they prepared to leave after a firefight.
The death toll was given in a statement from Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office but was not immediately confirmed by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
“The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan expresses his sympathy and deep condolences to US President Barack Obama and the family of the victims,” it said.
The Afghan defence ministry said the local troops who died were members of the country’s special forces.
Twenty-five of the dead were US Navy SEALs, US television network ABC News reported. The Pentagon declined to comment on the cause or number of deaths.
Obama paid tribute to the American and Afghan troops who died and said the incident was a reminder of the “extraordinary sacrifices” made by the men and women of the US military and their families.
US special forces play a key role in the fight against the Taleban and other insurgents by hunting down and killing fighters in targeted night raids.
The Friday night strike was by far the worst to hit foreign soldiers since American and other international forces invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taleban in 2001 in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks.
The previous biggest death toll saw 16 American soldiers killed in 2005 when a Taleban rocket hit their Chinook in the eastern province of Kunar.
One man who said he witnessed Friday’s crash, Mohammad Saber, told AFP that the helicopter plummeted during a late-night operation in his village.
“At around 10:00pm last night (1730 GMT), we heard helicopters flying over us,” he said.
“We were at home. We saw one of the helicopters land on the roof of a house of a Taleban commander, then shooting started.
“The helicopter later took off but soon after taking off it went down and crashed. There were other helicopters flying as well.”
Wardak provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the crash happened in Sayd Abad district during an operation against Taleban insurgents who have been waging war on pro-government forces since being toppled from power in 2001.
“The US chopper that crashed last night was shot down by the Taleban as it was taking off,” he said. “A rocket fired by the insurgents hit it and completely destroyed it.”
The Afghan army commander for the region, General Abdul Razeq, also said the helicopter was “shot down by a rocket fired by the enemy.”
A spokesman for ISAF said it would issue a statement “at an appropriate moment.”
Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the insurgent group was responsible for shooting down the helicopter, which he said was an American Chinook, and acknowledged that eight insurgents had been killed.
A Western military source speaking on condition of anonymity also confirmed the helicopter type.
Chinooks are widely used by coalition forces in Afghanistan for transporting large numbers of troops and supplies around the war zone.
The latest deaths take the total number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 342, according to an AFP tally based on the independent website iCasualties.org. Of those, 279 were from the United States.
Elsewhere in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, ISAF said another helicopter made a “precautionary landing” in Khost province, near the border with Pakistan.
A spokesman added that no-one on board was killed and there were no reports of serious injuries or insurgent activity in the area at the time.
There are currently about 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, around 100,000 of them from the US.
Some troop withdrawals have already begun as part of a process which is due to see all foreign combat forces leave by the end of 2014, although the Taleban are still waging a bloody insurgency.
Foreign troop commanders say the east of Afghanistan, close to Pakistan where insurgents have hideouts, will likely increasingly overtake the south as the focus of the war in coming months.
Vowed
Meanwhile, the United States on Saturday vowed to “stay the course” in Afghanistan after 31 US soldiers were killed there.
The pledge from US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta — and a salute from President Barack Obama — came after the US troops and seven Afghan soldiers were killed during an anti-Taleban operation late Friday southwest of Kabul.
The strike was by far the worst to hit foreign troops since American and other international forces invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taleban in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
“Their courage was exemplary, as was their determination to make this a safer world for their countries and for their fellow citizens,” Panetta said in a statement.
“We will stay the course to complete that mission, for which they and all who have served and lost their lives in Afghanistan have made the ultimate sacrifice.”
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Saturday he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths of US and Afghan soldiers.
“In this tragic moment I would like to stress NATO’s strong solidarity with the American and the Afghan people as well as with their respective governments,” he said in a statement.
“We are determined to stay the course,” he added, “especially in this crucial period when Afghan and international security forces are working closer than ever to make transition a success.”
Obama also paid tribute to the seven Afghan soldiers killed during an anti-Taleban operation late Friday when a rocket fired by the insurgents struck their Chinook helicopter in Wardak province, southwest of the capital Kabul.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the Americans who were lost earlier today in Afghanistan,” Obama said in a statement issued by the White House.
“Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan.”
“We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied,” he said.
The US president added: “We also mourn the Afghans who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and hopeful future for their country.”