U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan Copter Crash

Date: 20 November 2019 - 21:43

News ID: ۷۲۹۵۷

KABUL (Dispatches) – Two United States troops have been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, the U.S. military has said in a statement.
"The cause of the crash is under investigation, however preliminary reports do not indicate it was caused by enemy fire," the statement said on Wednesday.
It did not reveal the crash location and said it was withholding the names of those killed until next of kin could be told.
The Afghan Taliban, however, claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, which it said crashed in Logar province south of the capital Kabul.
"U.S. Chinook helicopter shot down and completely destroyed last night while trying to raid Mujahideen (Taliban) position in Pangram area of Sarkh, Logar," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet.
"The Americans wanted to raid a mujahideen base, but their helicopter was shot down and caught fire. All on board were killed," Mujahid said.
It was not possible to independently verify the group's claim.
The Afghan government, however, ruled out their involvement in the helicopter crash.
"There was no involvement of the enemy fire in the helicopter crash and no Afghan security force member is hurt,” said Fawad Aman, a spokesperson for the Afghan defense ministry.
More than 14,000 active U.S. troops are reportedly based in Afghanistan. More than 2,200 U.S. troops have been killed in the country since the invasion in 2001.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration with their continued deployment. U.S. forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Trump.
The U.S. has, in the past, tried to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban militant group over the withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan.
In the past year, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad held nine rounds of negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar, where the militant group has a political office.
A solution seemed to be close in early September, but a new wave of violence and the death of a U.S. soldier prompted Trump to call off the talks.