5 MORE American Soldiers Dead. 12 in Past 3 Days
Posted in H.L. News, Main Blog (All Posts) on May 31st, 2007 6:10 am by HL
5 Americans among 7 dead in Afghan crash
AP
Excerpt
KABUL, Afghanistan -
NATO troops on Thursday secured the wreckage of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter apparently shot down by Taliban militants, an attack that killed everyone on board — five U.S. soldiers, a Canadian and a Briton, officials said
NATO said troops going to the crash site in southern Helmand province were ambushed by enemy fighters, and the unit called in an airstrike “to eliminate the enemy threat.” It did not say if the troops were from the U.S.-led coalition, NATO’s force or the Afghan army. One civilian was injured by gunfire.
Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, said there would be a full investigation into Wednesday’s crash. “We will try to determine everything that happened and to fully investigate the site,” he said.
A U.S. military official, who insisted on speaking anonymously because the crash was still under investigation, said initial reports suggested the helicopter was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade.
