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40-50 US Troops Killed While Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan: AIP
A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban claimed Saturday that 40 to 50 U.S. troops were killed while their helicopter was shot down by the Taliban anti-aircraft gunfire, according to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP).
The spokesman, Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi told AIP that a U.S. helicopter crashed for unknown reasons in Nawur district of Ghazni province and a second gunship was shot down by the Taliban soldiers as it came to rescue the crew of the first.
"Pieces of 40 to 50 dead bodies were spread everywhere," he said.
According to the spokesman, the helicopter with 40 to 50 U.S. troops on board entered Afghanistan from Pakistan side and was heading toward Dara-e-Souf, the key frontline between the Taliban militia and its opposition Northern Alliance in Samangan province.
Early Saturday, a Taliban diplomat claimed that two U.S. aircraft were shot down by Taliban anti-aircraft gunfire in southern Afghan province of Ghazni during the U.S. air strikes Friday night.
Najibullah, a senior Taliban diplomat told AIP that the two U.S. aircraft took part in a round of air attacks on Nawar district in Ghazni. One crashed near Hokack village and the other crashed near Hasrat village.
In Washington, the U.S. Defense Department announced on Friday that a U.S. military helicopter crash-landed in Afghanistan due to bad weather, injuring four crew members.
It said the crash landing, the first reported loss of a U.S. aircraft within Afghanistan since the U.S. and its allies launched military strikes against the Taliban four weeks ago.
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