Nato secures crash site of downed helicopter

KABUL – Nato troops yesterday secured the wreckage of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter apparently shot down by Taliban militants, an attack that killed everyone on board -five US soldiers, a Canadian and a Briton, officials said.

“There will be a full investigation,” said Major John Thomas, a spokesman for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force. “We will try to determine everything that happened and to fully investigate the site.”A US 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 Wednesday evening.A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, claimed in a phone call to The Associated Press that militants shot the helicopter down in southern Helmand province, the world’s largest opium poppy-growing region where combat has been heavy in recent months.Ahmadi did not offer any proof for his claim, but he specified the helicopter crashed in the Kajaki district hours before Nato reported that information.Kajaki is the site of a hydroelectric dam and the scene of recent fighting.Nato said troops going to the crash site 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 US-led coalition, Nato’s force or the Afghan army.One civilian was injured by gunfire.The CH-47 Chinook, a heavy transport helicopter with two rotors, can carry around 40 soldiers plus a small crew.The fact it was flying at night suggested the aircraft might have been carrying troops on a nighttime air assault.Kajaki is the site of a large US-funded hydroelectric dam now being repaired so it can provide electricity to the southern city of Kandahar.British troops, who make up the bulk of the forces in Helmand province, have been engaged in fierce fighting around the dam protecting it.The Nato force, which is responsible for a countrywide counterinsurgency campaign, has 37 000 soldiers, including about 14 000 Americans.There are 12 000 US troops in the separate US-led coalition, which trains the Afghan army and conducts Special Forces anti-terrorism operations.Nampa-AP”We will try to determine everything that happened and to fully investigate the site.”A US 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 Wednesday evening.A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, claimed in a phone call to The Associated Press that militants shot the helicopter down in southern Helmand province, the world’s largest opium poppy-growing region where combat has been heavy in recent months.Ahmadi did not offer any proof for his claim, but he specified the helicopter crashed in the Kajaki district hours before Nato reported that information.Kajaki is the site of a hydroelectric dam and the scene of recent fighting.Nato said troops going to the crash site 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 US-led coalition, Nato’s force or the Afghan army.One civilian was injured by gunfire.The CH-47 Chinook, a heavy transport helicopter with two rotors, can carry around 40 soldiers plus a small crew.The fact it was flying at night suggested the aircraft might have been carrying troops on a nighttime air assault.Kajaki is the site of a large US-funded hydroelectric dam now being repaired so it can provide electricity to the southern city of Kandahar.British troops, who make up the bulk of the forces in Helmand province, have been engaged in fierce fighting around the dam protecting it.The Nato force, which is responsible for a countrywide counterinsurgency campaign, has 37 000 soldiers, including about 14 000 Americans.There are 12 000 US troops in the separate US-led coalition, which trains the Afghan army and conducts Special Forces anti-terrorism operations.Nampa-AP