The U.S. Army Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashes in Afghanistan killing two U.S. servicemen. It’s also not clear if there were more personnel aboard the helicopter at the time of the crash.
According to a statement from the US-led Resolute Support operation’s command, the incident happened on Wednesday at an undisclosed location in the war-ravaged country.
In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the names of the service members killed in action are being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, however preliminary reports do not indicate it was caused by enemy fire.
However, the Taliban promptly claimed to have shot down the helicopter in eastern Logar province, causing many fatalities.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement to media that the insurgents downed a U.S. Chinook helicopter at around 1 a.m. during fighting with the “invaders and their hirelings.”
No additional news was made available about Wednesday’s helicopter crash.
However, the incident happened just a week after a US convoy was hit by a suicide bomb while driving on the Kabul-Paktia highway. No casualties were reported, and no group claimed credit for the attack.
The deaths of the service members bring the number of U.S. combat fatalities this year in Afghanistan to 19. Approximately 14,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, and 2,400 U.S. soldiers have died in the U.S.-led war since 2001.
RIP… Rest easy