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KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents shot down a NATO Chinook helicopter during an overnight operation in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 37 people on board, a coalition military official said on Saturday. It was believed to be the deadliest helicopter crash in the nearly decade-long war, punctuating a surge of violence across the country even as American and NATO forces begin a modest drawdown of troops.
Afghan military officials put the death toll at 38, including 31 Americans and seven Afghan commandos. President Hamid Karzai’s office, in a statement, described the American casualties as members of the special forces. The coalition official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it, confirmed that the majority of the dead were NATO forces, but could not immediately identify their nationalities or what units they belonged to.
“The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has expressed his condolences to the U.S. President Barack Obama and to the families of the victims,” Mr. Karzai’s office said in a statement.
The helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in the Tangi valley of the Wardak Province just west of Kabul, the coalition official said. The Taliban claimed credit for the attack.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman, confirmed the crash but could provide no further information, including what caused the crash or whether there were casualties.
There were conflicting accounts on when the helicopter went down. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said insurgents shot down the helicopter around 11 p.m. Friday as it was launching an operation on a house where the militants were gathering in the Tangi Joyee region of the district of Saidabad in the eastern part of the province. Eight militants were killed in the fight that continued after the helicopter fell, he said.
“The fresh reports from the site tells us that there are still Americans doing search operations for the bodies and pieces of the helicopter are on the ground,” Mr. Mujahid said.
Although the nationality of the NATO soldiers killed was not confirmed, Americans were known to be carrying out the majority of operations in the area.
Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizoy, police chief of Wardak, said the operation began around 1 a.m. Saturday as NATO and Afghan forces attacked a Taliban compound in Jaw-e-mekh Zareen village in the Tangi valley. The firefight lasted at least two hours, the general said.
“It was at the end of the operation that one of the NATO helicopters crashed,” he said. “We don’t know yet the cause of the crash and we don’t know how many NATO soldiers were on board.”
The Tangi valley runs along the border of Wardak and the neighboring province of Logar. Taliban activity has been heavy in both provinces, which border the capital of Kabul
Afghan military officials put the death toll at 38, including 31 Americans and seven Afghan commandos. President Hamid Karzai’s office, in a statement, described the American casualties as members of the special forces. The coalition official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it, confirmed that the majority of the dead were NATO forces, but could not immediately identify their nationalities or what units they belonged to.
“The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has expressed his condolences to the U.S. President Barack Obama and to the families of the victims,” Mr. Karzai’s office said in a statement.
The helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in the Tangi valley of the Wardak Province just west of Kabul, the coalition official said. The Taliban claimed credit for the attack.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman, confirmed the crash but could provide no further information, including what caused the crash or whether there were casualties.
There were conflicting accounts on when the helicopter went down. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said insurgents shot down the helicopter around 11 p.m. Friday as it was launching an operation on a house where the militants were gathering in the Tangi Joyee region of the district of Saidabad in the eastern part of the province. Eight militants were killed in the fight that continued after the helicopter fell, he said.
“The fresh reports from the site tells us that there are still Americans doing search operations for the bodies and pieces of the helicopter are on the ground,” Mr. Mujahid said.
Although the nationality of the NATO soldiers killed was not confirmed, Americans were known to be carrying out the majority of operations in the area.
Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizoy, police chief of Wardak, said the operation began around 1 a.m. Saturday as NATO and Afghan forces attacked a Taliban compound in Jaw-e-mekh Zareen village in the Tangi valley. The firefight lasted at least two hours, the general said.
“It was at the end of the operation that one of the NATO helicopters crashed,” he said. “We don’t know yet the cause of the crash and we don’t know how many NATO soldiers were on board.”
The Tangi valley runs along the border of Wardak and the neighboring province of Logar. Taliban activity has been heavy in both provinces, which border the capital of Kabul
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