Men who killed Bin Laden die in action

A military helicopter has been shot down in Afghanistan, killing 31 US special operation troops, most of them from the elite Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden.

Seven Afghan commandos also died in the deadliest single incident for American forces in the decade-long war.

The Taliban claimed they downed 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 on Friday. It said wreckage of the craft was strewn at the scene.

A senior US administration official in Washington said the craft was apparently shot down by insurgents.

Nato confirmed the overnight crash took place and that there “was enemy activity in the area.” But it said it was still investigating and conducting a recovery operation at the site.

“We are in the process of accessing the facts,” said US Air Force Capt Justin Brockhoff, a Nato spokesman.

One current and one former US official said that the dead included more than 20 Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six, the unit that carried out the raid in Pakistan in May that killed bin Laden.

They were being flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

President Barack Obama mourned the deaths of the American troops, saying in a statement that the crash serves as a reminder of the “extraordinary sacrifices” being made by the US military and its families. He said he also mourned “the Afghans who died alongside our troops”.

The death toll would surpass the worst single day loss of life for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 – the June 28, 2005 downing of a military helicopter in eastern Kunar province.

In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban. Three of the SEALs being rescued were also killed and the fourth wounded. It was the highest one-day death toll for the Navy Special Warfare personnel since World War II.

With its steep mountain ranges, providing shelter for militants armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eastern Afghanistan is hazardous terrain for military aircraft.

Large, slow-moving air transport carriers like the CH-47 Chinook are particularly vulnerable.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday gave the first public word of the new 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 Mr Obama.

The helicopter was a twin-rotor Chinook, said an official at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

The crash took place in the Sayd Abad district of Wardak province, which borders the province of Kabul where the Afghan capital is located and is known for its strong Taliban presence.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that Taliban fighters downed the helicopter during a “heavy raid” in Sayd Abad.

He said Nato attacked a house in Sayd Abad where insurgent fighters were gathering. During the battle, the fighters shot down the helicopter, killing 31 Americans and seven Afghans, he said, adding that eight insurgents were killed in the fight.