16 troops killed in downed US helicopter

American soldiers were today identifying the remains of 16 troops killed when their special forces helicopter was shot down and plunged into a mountain ravine in eastern Afghanistan.

The MH-47 Chinook helicopter went down on Tuesday while ferrying troops to a battle against militants – the deadliest single blow to American forces who ousted the Taliban in 2001 for harbouring al-Qaida and are now grappling with an escalating insurgency.

The bodies of the 16 were recovered yesterday, said Lt. Gen. James Conway, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Pentagon.

Their remains still were being identified, the military said. Authorities initially reported 17 people were on board, but the manifest included a person who apparently missed the flight, military officials said.

Conway said the military did not yet have a full account of all ground troops involved in the operation, although “we do not have any people classified as missing at this point”.

He would provide no details when asked what was known about the troops on the ground that the helicopter was sent to aid. “We don’t have full accountability nor will we until such time as the operation is complete,” he said.

Rescuers – struggling against stormy weather, insurgents and the rugged terrain – reached the crash site yesterday, about 36 hours after the chopper went down in high mountains near the town of Asadabad, close to the border with Pakistan.

The troops were still there today, recovering parts of the chopper, US military spokeswoman Sgt. Marina Evans said.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Mullah Latif Hakimi, claimed the group shot down the helicopter, and also said there was video of the attack. No video has been released, however, and the spokesman could not be reached today.

Conway said it appeared an unguided rocket-propelled grenade hit the chopper. He called it “a pretty lucky shot against a helicopter”.

He said it appeared the troops on board died during the crash and not during a fight on the ground afterward.

Only eight months ago, Afghan and US officials were hailing a relatively peaceful presidential election as a sign that the Taliban rebellion was finished.

But remnants of the former Taliban regime have stepped up attacks, and there are disturbing signs that foreign fighters – including some linked to al-Qaida - might be making a new push to sow an Iraq-style insurgency.

The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. On April 6, 15 US service members and three American civilians were killed when their chopper went down in a sandstorm while returning to the main US base at Bagram.

The dead in this week’s crash comprised seven soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, one from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and eight Navy SEALs assigned to units in Norfolk, Virginia, and San Diego, California, the US military sid.