Helicopter Crash Kills Six US Troops in Afghanistan - Over 40 Israeli Paratroopers Injured during Exercise- Four French Troops Killed 16 wounded in Afghanistan

Local Editor

Six US occupation troops were killed on Thursday as their helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. Officials said the helicopter, a CH-53 Sea Stallion, went down in the volatile Helmand province, adding that the crash was not a result of enemy fire. "Initial indications are that this was not hostile fire”, US official indicated. The dead were members of the US military, another US official told Agence France Press. In a brief statement, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the cause of the crash was "under investigation." "However, initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash," it said. The Sea Stallion is a heavy transport aircraft capable of carrying about 40 people. The US officials did not say whether anyone else was on board, other than the six victims. An ISAF spokesman told AFP in Kabul that the crash occurred late on Thursday local time.

Source: AFP

Over 40 Israeli Paratroopers Injured during Exercise

Local Editor

More than 43 Israeli paratroopers were moved to Soroka Medical Center in the Israeli settlement of Beer Sheeva, after they were injured while practicing parachuting, Israeli Channel 10 reported Wednesday night, indicating that some of them were suffering fractures in various parts of their bodies. “More than 35 soldiers are still suffering injuries in their backs and other parts, and 40 of them are lying in the hospital,” Channel 10 added. A Zionist military spokeswoman had earlier stated that “over 1000 paratrooper in the army took part in Tuesday and Wednesday’s military maneuver that included parachuting in the Al-Naqab desert.” “The goal out of this maneuver is to examine the soldiers’ potentials in airdropping around 1000 soldier in 70 minutes,” she added. Four French Troops Killed 16 wounded in Afghanistan Local Editor Four French soldiers were shot dead and 16 were wounded by a member of the Afghan army in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, a NATO spokesman and Afghan officials said. A spokesman for NATO forces said four NATO troops were killed and the shooter had been arrested, but did not give the nationality of the troops. Later Friday, France suspended all training and joint operations in Afghanistan and President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was mulling an early withdrawal. "The French army is alongside its allies but we cannot accept that a single one of our soldiers be wounded or killed by our allies, it's unacceptable," Sarkozy said. He dispatched Defense Minister Gerard Longuet to Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also said that France wants "credible assurances" about Afghan recruits or the withdrawal of French troops will be accelerated.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!