Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Pumpitout. We hope you enjoy your visit.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Navy SEALs from unit that killed bin Laden among those lost in helicopter crash
Topic Started: Aug 6 2011, 12:14 PM (1,059 Views)
shure
Member Avatar
Administrator
Navy SEALs from unit that killed bin Laden among those lost in helicopter crash
By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, August 6, 12:07 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ap-sources-navy-seals-from-unit-that-killed-bin-laden-among-those-lost-in-helicopter-crash/2011/08/06/gIQAbRTcyI_story.html

WASHINGTON — The Associated Press has learned that more than 20 Navy SEALs from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden were among those lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

The operators from SEAL Team Six were flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. That’s according to one current and one former U.S. official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because families are still being notified of the loss of their loved ones.

One source says the team was thought to include 22 SEALs, three Air Force air controllers, seven Afghan Army troops, a dog and his handler, and a civilian interpreter, plus the helicopter crew.

The sources thought this was the largest single loss of life ever for SEAL Team Six, known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group.










Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
shure
Member Avatar
Administrator
22 Seals from the unit that shot Osama bin Laden are killed in Afghanistan as helicopter is brought down in worst loss of life since 10-year war began

Taliban claims it brought chopper down in rocket attack

At 31 deaths in total, it's highest number of U.S. casualties in one incident

Seven Afghan soldiers die in the crash

President Obama mourns this 'extraordinary sacrifice'


Afghan president sends condolences to Obama

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 6:07 PM on 6th August 2011
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023123/Afghanistan-helicopter-crash-kills-31-US-troops-including-22-Seals.html?ito=feeds-newsxml



Twenty two Navy Seals from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden were among those lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
The operators from Seal Team Six were flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, confirms one current and one former U.S. official.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity because families are still being notified of the loss of their loved ones.
One source says the helicopter was carrying 22 Seals, three Air Force air controllers, seven Afghan Army troops, a dog and his handler, and a civilian interpreter, plus the helicopter crew.
This was the largest single loss of life ever for Seal Team Six, known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. It was also the worst single loss of life since the war began.


Posted Image

The helicopter was reportedly shot down by insurgents with an RPG as it returned from a night raid on a militant gathering in the Tangi Valley, Wardak province west of Kabul.
Members of the Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden earlier this year and the heavy loss of life will be a blow to the elite unit which has a central role in targeting Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.
The tragedy also comes as America draws down its presence in Afghanistan and attempts to hand over responsibility for security to Afghan forces. Seven Afghan soldiers were also killed in the crash.

The special operations troops were returning from the village of Jaw-e-mekh Zareen where they had been involved in a two-hour fire fight when insurgents targeted the Chinook.

Wreckage was reportedly strewn across the area, after the helicopter crashed carrying a team of 25 Navy Seals, according to ABC news. Also on board were the American crew and a team of Afghan special forces.

Barack Obama today mourned the loss of life, saying it was a sign of the extraordinary sacrifices made by members of the military.
President Hamid Karzai sent his condolences to President Obama, according to a statement issued by his office.

Posted Image

'A NATO helicopter crashed last night in Wardak province,' Karzai said in the statement, adding that 31 American special operations troops were killed.
'President Karzai expressed his deep condolences because of this incident and expressed his sympathy to Barack Obama.'

NATO confirmed the overnight crash and said there 'was enemy activity in the area.'
But it said it was still investigating the cause.
The alliance was conducting a recovery operation at the site, it said, without releasing details or a casualty figure.
'We are aware of an incident involving a helicopter in eastern Afghanistan,' said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman.
'We are in the process of accessing the facts.'
The helicopter was a twin-rotor Chinook, which are used for transport, said an official at NATO headquarters in Brussels, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press, the Associated Press reports.
The helicopter crashed in the Sayd Abad district of Wardak province, said a provincial government spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid.
The volatile region borders the province of Kabul where the Afghan capital is located and is known for its strong Taliban presence.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that NATO had attacked a house in Sayd Abad where insurgents were gathering Friday night, killing eight fighters.
The Taliban then downed the helicopter, he said.


Posted Image

In June 2005, 16 American troops were killed when a U.S. helicopter crashed in eastern Kunar province after apparently being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Aircraft crashes are relatively frequent in Afghanistan, where insecurity and difficult terrain make air travel essential for coalition forces transporting troops and equipment.
There have been at least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan this year.
Most of the crashes are attributed to pilot errors, weather conditions or mechanical failures. However, the coalition has confirmed that at least one CH-47F Chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade on July 25, injuring two crewmembers.
Meanwhile, NATO troops attacked a house and inadvertently killed eight members of a family, including women and children, in the southern Helmand province, an Afghan government official said Saturday.
NATO said Taliban fighters fired rocket propelled grenades and small arms at coalition troops during a patrol Friday in the Nad Ali district.
The troops fired back, and as the fight escalated an aistrike was called in against the Taliban position, said Brockhoff, the NATO spokesman.
He said NATO sent a delegation to meet with local leaders and investigate the incident.
Nad Ali district police chief Shadi Khan said civilians died in the bombardment but that it was unknown how many insurgents were killed.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said: 'The fresh reports from the site tells us that there are still Americans doing search operations for the bodies and pieces of the helicopter are on the ground.'

Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizoy, police chief of Wardak, said the operation began around 1 a.m. Saturday as NATO and Afghan forces attacked a Taliban compound in Jaw-e-mekh Zareen village in the Tangi Valley.

The firefight lasted at least two hours, the general said.
'It was at the end of the operation that one of the NATO helicopters crashed,' he said.
'We don’t know yet the cause of the crash, and we don’t know how many NATO soldiers were on board.'Helmand, a Taliban stronghold, is the deadliest province in Afghanistan for international troops.'
NATO has come under harsh criticism in the past for accidentally killing civilians during operations against suspected insurgents.
However, civilian death tallies by the United Nations show the insurgency is responsible for most war casualties involving non-combatants.
Also in the south, NATO said two coalition service member were killed, one on Friday and another on Saturday. The international alliance did not release further details.
The deaths bring to 334 the number of coalition troops killed this year in Afghanistan, and 11 this month.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023123/Afghanistan-helicopter-crash-kills-31-US-troops-including-22-Seals.html#ixzz1UGoUFuds










Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
shure
Member Avatar
Administrator
Washington Post article linked above now titled...

"AP sources: None of the Navy SEALs on bin Laden mission among Team 6 members lost in crash"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ap-sources-navy-seals-from-unit-that-killed-bin-laden-among-those-lost-in-helicopter-crash/2011/08/06/gIQAbRTcyI_story.html



Quote:
 
By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, August 6, 1:50 PM

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that they believe that none of the Navy SEALs who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan had participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, although they were from the same unit that carried out the bin Laden mission.







Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
shure
Member Avatar
Administrator
NATO helicopter shot down in Afghanistan: official
Updated: Sat Aug. 06 2011 3:47:29 PM
CTV News.ca Staff
http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110806/nato-chopper-crash-110806/20110806/?hub=MontrealHome


Posted Image
A U.S. Chinook helicopter is seen between U.S. and Afghanistan's flags in Bazarak, Panjshir province north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, July 24, 2011. (AP / Musadeq Sadeq)


A NATO helicopter that crashed in eastern Afghanistan killing dozens of U.S. soldiers and seven Afghan troops was apparently shot down by insurgents, says a senior U.S. official.

At least 30 U.S. soldiers are said to have died in the crash, the highest number of American casualties killed during a single incident in the decade-long war.


Most of the soldiers were from the elite Navy SEALs unit that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. U.S. officials believe that none of those who died in the crash had participated in the bin Laden raid, although they were from the same unit that carried out the mission.

Two administration officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

In a statement released by his office, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that the NATO chopper had crashed in the Sayd Abad district of Afghanistan's Wardak province, a restive area that borders the country's capital Kabul.

Karzai also expressed sympathy to U.S. President Barack Obama in the message, extending his "deep condolences" to the American president.

In a statement, Obama said the crash is a reminder of the "extraordinary sacrifices" made by U.S. service men and women and their families. Obama, who is spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat, also paid tribute to the Afghan troops who lost their lives in the incident.

Earlier Saturday, Taliban militants had claimed to have brought the helicopter down with a rocket attack, but NATO said the cause of the crash was not known.

NATO did say that there "was enemy activity in the area" at the time of the crash. The organization said it was conducting a recovery operation at the site, but did not provide further details.

A Taliban spokesperson said in a statement that the militant group downed the helicopter after NATO attacked a house in Sayd Abad where insurgents were gathering Friday night, killing eight fighters.

Those claims, however, have not been confirmed.

"We are in the process of accessing the facts," NATO spokesperson and U.S. Air Force Cpt. Justin Brockoff told The Associated Press.

The helicopter involved in the crash was a twin-rotor Chinook, said an official at the NATO headquarters in Brussels who shared the information with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Twin-rotor Chinooks are typically used for transport, he said.

Aircraft crashes are not unusual in Afghanistan, where air travel is necessary for coalition forces transporting troops and supplies.

In June 2005, 16 American troops were killed when a U.S. helicopter crashed in eastern Kunar province after apparently being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

This year alone there have been at least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan. Most of those incidents were due to pilot error, weather conditions or mechanical failure.









Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
shure
Member Avatar
Administrator
CTV News coverage August 6, 2011 4:00pm est:

Mp3 audio: CTV interview with International Defence Analysis Sunil Ram

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-69499/TS-490054.mp3











Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · September 11, 2001 · Next Topic »
Add Reply