Seven U.S. Soldiers Killed When Choppers Hit

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 05, 2002

Seven U.S. Soldiers Killed When Choppers Hit

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Hundreds of U.S. troops and waves of B-52 bombers pounded snowcapped mountains Monday in Afghanistan where a recently built-up force of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters were mounting a furious defense near the Pakistan border.

Seven Americans were killed in the day's battle. Six of the victims died in a gun battle after their helicopter was forced down by small arms fire.

The joint operation, which began Friday and is the biggest of the war, marks the first time U.S. ground troops have been used in an offensive operation. Of the 2,000 fighters in the battle, about 900 are U.S. soldiers. The rest are mostly Afghans and a smaller number of soldiers from other countries.

Scores of bombs fell Monday onto mountain redoubts south of Gardez in eastern Afghanistan. Intense clashes took place on the ground in bitter cold. Forty Americans were wounded, most not seriously, officials said.

The allies hoped to trap the fighters in the hills, but Afghans battling alongside the U.S. troops said hundreds of mostly Arab fighters have slipped away. The Pentagon estimated that 200 enemy fighters have been killed. There was no evidence that Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader and alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on the USA, was in the region.

The U.S. deaths involved two attempts to land soldiers close in to the fighting. A MH-47 Chinook helicopter was about to drop off its troops in a pre-dawn mission when it was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. The grenade did no damage, but the helicopter pulled out. Later it was discovered that one of the crewmen was missing.

Three hours later, another Chinook was forced down in a hostile area when hit by small arms fire. The troops and crew spilled and were caught in a firefight. Six died in the shooting.

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