US HELICOPTER CRASH IN AFGHANISTAN

US HELICOPTER

CRASH IN AFGHANISTAN

A US helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan has killed 31 US special forces and seven Afghan soldiers, President Hamid Karzai's office says.The helicopter was taking the personnel back to their base after an operation. Neither the US nor Nato have confirmed the cause, but witnesses, officials and the Taliban say it was shot down. The incident is believed to be the biggest single loss of life for US forces in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001. The Chinook helicopter went down overnight in Wardak province, the statement from President Karzai's office said.It was returning from an operation against the Taliban in which eight insurgents are believed to have been killed.

A senior official of President Barack Obama's administration said the helicopter was apparently shot down, Associated Press news agency said. An official with the Nato-led coalition in Afghanistan told the New York Times the helicopter was shot down with a rocket-propelled grenade."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," the statement from Hamid Karzai said. President Obama, too, issued a statement paying tribute to the Americans and Afghans who died in the crash. "We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied. We also mourn the Afghans who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and hopeful future for their country," the statement said.

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force has confirmed the helicopter crash but has not released details of casualties or the cause. Nato said it was mounting an operation to recover the helicopter and find out why it crashed. It said there had been "enemy activity in the area" where it went down. A Taliban spokesman said insurgents had brought down the helicopter with a rocket after US and Afghan troops attacked a house in the Sayd Abad district of Wardak where insurgents were meeting late on Friday, Associated Press said. There are currently about 140,000 foreign troops - about 100,000 of them American - in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban insurgency and training local troops to take over security.All foreign combat forces are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and some troop withdrawals have already taken place.Nato has begun the process of handing over control of security in some areas to local forces, with Bamiyan becoming the first province to pass to Afghan control in mid-July.An increase in US troop numbers last year has had some success combating the Taliban in the south of Afghanistan, but attacks in the north, which was

President Barrack Obama mourned the deaths of 31 U.S. special operations troops in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. He said it’s a reminder of the “extraordinary sacrifices” being made by America’s military and its families. An American official said the helicopter appears to have been shot down on Saturday in eastern Afghanistan in the deadliest single combat incident of the decade-long war.  Mr. Obama learned of the deaths while at Camp David. In a written statement, he said Americans’ thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who perished. He also mourned the loss of seven Afghan soldiers killed in the crash  previously relatively quiet, have picked up in recent months.

                                                         Prof. John Kurakar