The harsh reality is that today the helicopter is a terrible choice of troop transport or firepower against any competent or well-equipped force – of any size.
Some 31 U.S. special operation troops and seven Afghan commandos, were killed when Taliban insurgents shot the helicopter down in Afghanistan yesterday.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the downing of the helicopter with rocket fire while it was taking part in a raid on a house where insurgents were gathered in the province of Wardak late Friday. It said wreckage of the craft was strewn at the scene.
Meanwhile the Pentagon is still assessing the fact and trying to notify relatives and the Defense Department has not released the name of those killed.
President Barack Obama mourned the deaths of the American troops, saying that the crash serves as a reminder of the “extraordinary sacrifices” being made by the U.S. military and its families. He said he also mourned “the Afghans who died alongside our troops.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday gave his first public words of the “crash”, saying in a statement that “a NATO helicopter crashed last night in Wardak province” and that 31 American special operations troops were killed. He expressed his condolences to President Barack Obama and the American people.
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