US: Strike kills militants who downed US chopper

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Coalition forces have killed the militants responsible for shooting down a U.S. helicopter carrying 30 Americans in Afghanistan.

US: Strike kills militants who downed US chopper

'We dealt with them in a kinetic strike,' general explains; military tracked fighters for days

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WASHINGTON — An airstrike by NATO-led forces in Afghanistan killed Taliban fighters, including a local leader, who were responsible for a weekend helicopter crash that killed 38 troops, the worst single incident in 10 years of war.

"We dealt with them in a kinetic strike," General John Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon.

Gen. Allen said the military tracked the Taliban fighters for several days after the helicopter went down. Forces reportedly trailed the fighters to a position in Chak District, Wardak Province, and then US F-16s struck and killed them Tuesday.

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"The strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who fired the shot associated with the Aug. 6 downing of the CH-47 helicopter, which resulted in the deaths of 38 Afghan and coalition service members," the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

According to the statement, the two men were attempting to flee the country in order to avoid capture. The strike killed them along with "several" Taliban associates.

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Mohibullah was not the Taliban leader that the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs were going after last weekend when the helicopter went down.

The statement did not say explicitly that Taliban fighters had shot the helicopter down, although it was the clearest indication yet that was the likely cause.

Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed that eight Taliban were killed by NATO forces in the Chak district of Wardak province yesterday, but he would not confirm that Mohibullah was among the dead.

General defends use of Chinook

News of the strike came as more details began to emerge about the mission U.S. forces were on when their helicopter went down.

U.S. military officials confirm that on the evening of the attack the sought-after Taliban leader was trying to get away and the Rangers called in backup to cut off escape routes. The Rangers were not pinned down or in danger; they were simply asking to stop the "squirters," as one defense official called them.

Gen. Allen said that as the Chinook approached the valley, it took both small arms and RPG fire. Despite the fact the helicopter is believed to have been downed by an RPG strike, the investigation will attempt to uncover whether the small arms fire may have played a part as well.

Gen. Allen called the mission "one of many" like this across Afghanistan that night, and he defended the commanders' decision to send in the quick reaction force on a Chinook.

"We routinely use this airplane, it is an important means for tactical ability," he said.

Allen said this one incident likely would not derail the use of Chinooks in future missions. "The fact that we lost this aircraft is not a decision point as to whether we'll use this aircraft in the future," he said.

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[AURaptor 1,137]

Great news. Hope it's true, of course. That they were able to track down these guys... is awesome. But why these guys, and not so many countless others ?

[CCTAU 3,369]

Great news. Hope it's true, of course. That they were able to track down these guys... is awesome. But why these guys, and not so many countless others ?

Because we can justify revenge. Even the left wants revenge for an act like this. But for the 3, 4, 5 killed every day, the left would be up in arms trying to save the innocent bad guys from our out of control military.

A no mans land should be created and ANYTHING found in it should be destroyed. That would slow the movement of the enemy a little.