All 17 US troops in Afghan crash believed dead

KABUL - All 17 US troops aboard an American helicopter that crashed after being hit by ground fire in an anti-militant operation in Afghanistan are believed to have died, a US official said.

The casualties from Tuesday's crash would be the heaviest for US forces in an incident linked to hostile fire in Afghanistan since they invaded to overthrow the Taleban in 2001.

"We presume that all were lost," said a US official in Washington, who asked not to be identified, when asked if all those aboard -- including elite US Seals Special Operations troops -- had been killed in the crash.

The official told Reuters the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook was believed to have been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in mountainous terrain near the border with Pakistan, an attack claimed by Taleban guerrillas.

The US military said the Chinook crashed in remote and mountainous Kunar province on Tuesday afternoon while bringing troops to reinforce soldiers in an anti-al Qaeda operation.

It was hit by ground fire as it approached its landing zone and crashed about 1-2 km away, US military spokesman Colonel Jim Yonts told a news briefing in Kabul.

He said fighting continued in the area on Wednesday involving a large force of US-led troops and a "very determined enemy".

Taleban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said the guerrillas shot down the aircraft in the village of Shorak using "a new type of weapon" he did not describe.

"This is a huge success for the Taleban," he said, adding that the guerrillas had video of the crash and would post photographs on their website (www.alemarah.com). It did not appear to have been updated on Wednesday.

In early June, the US military said a helicopter had been attacked in Uruzgan province by a suspected surface-to-air missile. Such weapons, supplied by the United States, were used to great effect by guerrillas fighting Soviet occupiers in the 1980s, but the Taleban have not been known to use them.

US defence officials in Washington, who asked not to be identified, said those on the helicopter included elite Navy Seals Special Operations troops trained to fight in all environments, especially behind enemy lines.

The crash was the second of a US Chinook in Afghanistan in less than three months and comes amid a surge in guerrilla activity aimed at derailing Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability.

Another Chinook came down in a dust storm in Ghazni province on April 6, killing 18 Americans, including 15 troops.

That was the deadliest military air accident since Washington invaded Afghanistan after the Taleban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on US cities in 2001.

At least 14 other US troops from a 20,000-strong mostly US foreign force pursuing militants have been killed by hostile fire this year along with about 400 guerrillas and dozens of Afghan troops, police and officials.

Two Chinooks were hit by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in heavy fighting in the southwest last week and one was forced to make an emergency landing.

The Taleban's Hakimi said 35 Americans died in Tuesday's crash after the guerrillas killed 7 US "spies" on the ground, but his reports have often proven exaggerated or incorrect.

The Pentagon has previously reported 149 US military deaths in and around Afghanistan since 2001, including 77 killed in action.

- REUTERS