Seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter were also among the dead when the Chinook helicopter plummeted after a firefight with the insurgents late Friday in Wardak province, southwest of the capital Kabul.The crash site had been sealed off by Sunday, with reports that fighting was still going on in the area where a rocket propelled grenade is thought to have downed the aircraft.
The incident was the biggest single loss of life for foreign occupation forces since 2001.
A witness said the crash followed a raid on a Taliban commander's home. "Afghan and foreign troops are still in the area," provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told AFP on Sunday. ““The phones are not working in the area," he said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and local and Afghan army authorities said an insurgent rocket had brought the chopper down.
The NATO-led ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission in the troubled country, confirmed an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the deadly crash.
US President Barack Obama paid tribute to those who died and said the incident was a reminder of the "extraordinary sacrifices" made by the men and women of the military and their families.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vowed the US would "stay the course" in Afghanistan despite the latest loss.
US television networks reported that 25 of the dead in Friday's attack were US Navy SEALs. Sources in the Obama administration told AFP that those killed came from the army, navy and air force, without saying if they were SEALs.
Contrary to several US media reports, the dead were not part of the special forces team that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan in May, the sources said.
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| Local Editor | ||||
 Thirty-one members of the US occupation special forces were killed when a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan."This helicopter crashed in Wardak province last night, as a result of which including the crew members, 31 personnel of American Special Forces lost their lives”, a statement from Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said Saturday "The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan expresses his sympathy and deep condolences to US President Barack Obama and the family of the victims”, the statement added. The statement also said that seven Afghan troops were also killed in the incident. The crash late Friday represents the biggest death toll in a single incident for international forces in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001. The helicopter from the NATO-led foreign force has crashed during an anti-Taliban operation in the eastern province of Wardak, southwest of Afghan capital Kabul, a provincial spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said. TALIBAN CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY In a written statement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the group claimed responsibility for the crash. He said NATO had attacked a house in Sayd Abad where Taliban fighters were gathering on Friday. The Taliban then fired on NATO and downed the helicopter, killing the crew, Mujahid said. Earlier before the presidential statement, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was still looking into what had happened. "An International Security Assistance Force helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan today and recovery operations are under way”, a spokesman for ISAF, the foreign military force in Afghanistan, said. "ISAF is still in the process of assessing the circumstances to determine the facts of the incident. Reporting indicates there was enemy activity in the area." An eyewitness told AFP news agency that the helicopter had crashed as it was trying to take off after landing on the roof of a Taliban commander's home during a firefight. | ||||
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