>From our buddies the Russians or Chinese...doesn't matter...all of the same ilk.
Bruce http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1403572.htm Last Update: Thursday, June 30, 2005. 5:50am (AEST) The Chinook is believed to have been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200506/r51164_136565.jpg (AFP) 'New weapon' downed US Chinook in Afghanistan The Taliban claims to have used a new weapon to shoot down a US military helicopter in a remote region of Afghanistan. The 17 US troops, including special forces, aboard the Chinook helicopter that crashed after being hit by ground fire in an anti-militant operation are believed to have died, a US official said. The casualties from Tuesday's crash would be the heaviest for US forces in an incident linked to hostile fire in Afghanistan since they invaded to overthrow the Taliban in 2001. "We presume that all were lost," said a US official in Washington, who asked not to be identified, when asked if all those aboard - including elite US Seals Special Operations troops - had been killed in the crash. The official said that the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook was believed to have been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in mountainous terrain near the border with Pakistan, an attack claimed by Taliban guerrillas. Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said fighters shot down the aircraft in the village of Shorak using "a new type of weapon" he did not describe. "This is a huge success for the Taliban," he said, adding that the fighters had video of the crash and would post photographs on their web site. The US military said the Chinook crashed in remote and mountainous Kunar province on Tuesday afternoon while bringing troops to reinforce soldiers in an anti-Al Qaeda operation. It was hit by ground fire as it approached its landing zone and crashed about one to two kilometres away, US military spokesman Colonel Jim Yonts told a news briefing in Kabul. He said fighting continued in the area on Wednesday involving a large force of US-led troops and a "very determined enemy". In early June, the US military said a helicopter had been attacked in Uruzgan province by a suspected surface-to-air missile. Such weapons, supplied by the US, were used to great effect by guerrillas fighting Soviet occupiers in the 1980s, but the Taliban have not been known to use them. US defence officials in Washington, who asked not to be identified, said those on the helicopter included elite Navy Seals Special Operations troops trained to fight in all environments, especially behind enemy lines. The crash was the second of a US Chinook in Afghanistan in less than three months and comes amid a surge in insurgent activity aimed at derailing September 18 parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability. Another Chinook came down in a dust storm in Ghazni province on April 6, killing 18 Americans, including 15 troops. That was the deadliest military air accident since Washington invaded Afghanistan after the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders responsible for the September 11 attacks on US cities in 2001. -Reuters -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
