The Wall Street Journal reports that a Chinook helicopter carrying 31 US special forces troops and 7 Afghan troops was shot down last night by a Taliban insurgent’s missile. The crash killed everyone on board.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai confirmed the crash, sending his condolences to American forces. The chopper was fired upon during a night raid over a village in Afghanistan’s Wardak province. Up until now, the deadliest crash took place back in 2005, when, similarly, a rocket took down a Chinook aircraft carrying 16 troops on a rescue mission. Among those killed were 25 Navy SEALS. You can watch the report on ABC News.
In this horrible game of life and death, it’s important to remember that for every successful mission there will be tragedies like this. So take a moment to think of the families of those who lost their lives in this endless war. [WSJ, ABC News]
Photo: AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus
Update: According to sources for the Associated Press, 20 of the Navy SEALs killed in last night’s crash were members of SEAL Team Six, the group now famous for taking out bin Laden. This, too, is their greatest loss of personnel. [AP]