Taliban ‘shoot down’ US chopper

Afghan Taliban claimed to have shot down a US military helicopter in Birmal area of Afghanistan’s Paktika province early on Saturday morning, killing seven soldiers.

The military sources based in Angoor Adda, a border town between Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal region and Afghanistan’s Paktika province, also said they had also heard similar reports of shooting down of the US chopper by Taliban just across the border.

“Yes we received reports of shooting down of a US military helicopter by Taliban militants in Birmal, Afghanistan, in which the pilot and gunner had lost their lives,” a Pakistani military official told The News by telephone from Angoor Adda.

Taliban claimed they had attacked the US military Machadaat camp in Birmal area late on Friday night and when their helicopters flew to target their positions, Taliban militants fired from RPG-7 and shot a Chinook helicopter down.

Quoting local villagers in Afghanistan, a senior Taliban commander claimed that the villagers had seen bodies of seven US soldiers being recovered and shifted to the adjacent US military base after the helicopter was shot down around 7:00 am. There was no independent confirmation of Taliban’s claim.