Author Topic: BREAKING: NATO says 5 service members have been killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan.  (Read 1340 times)

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Offline EC

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The Associated Press ‏@AP 31s

BREAKING: NATO says 5 service members have been killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan.

tweet only at present. Waiting for more.
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Offline EC

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Still not much detail, but the BBC has set up a stub page.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27775676
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Offline EC

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO says five service members have been killed in attack in southern Afghanistan.

A statement from the international alliance on Tuesday says that all five soldiers died on Monday.

It did not give further details on where the attack happened nor the nationality of the soldiers killed in the attack. Coalition policy is for home countries to identify their military dead.

The deaths bring to 36 the number of NATO soldiers killed so far this year in Afghanistan, with eight service members killed in June.

Casualties have been falling in the U.S.-led military coalition as its forces pull back to allow the Afghan army and police to fight the Taliban insurgency. All combat troops are scheduled to be withdrawn from the country by the end of this year.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nato-says-5-service-members-killed-afghanistan
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Offline EC

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Note: This report is UNCONFIRMED as yet.


Allied 'copters kill foreign troops in Afghanistan: police, Taliban
Reuters
12 minutes ago

KABUL (Reuters) - Five foreign servicemen died in southern Afghanistan, the Nato-led coalition forces said on Tuesday, and police and Taliban insurgents said they had been killed by fire from helicopters piloted by their own allies.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) gave no reason for the deaths on Monday in southern Zabul province, days before a run-off round in a presidential election. The force said it was investigating the deaths.

Local police chief Ghulam Sakhi Roghlewai said: "ISAF troops were returning to their bases after an operation when they were ambushed by the insurgents. The air strike mistakenly hit their own forces and killed the soldiers."

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said insurgents had been attacking the foreign forces when the helicopters intervened and accidentally killed their own troops.

Security is being ramped up in Afghanistan ahead of Saturday's run-off vote to replace President Hamid Karzai. The poll pits Abdullah Abdullah, a former leader of the opposition to the Islamist Taliban, against former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani. [ID:nL4N0OP08O]

http://news.yahoo.com/allied-copters-kill-foreign-troops-afghanistan-police-taliban-070558552.html
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Offline EC

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The Associated Press ‏@AP 3m

BREAKING: Defense official says 5 NATO soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan attack are American.
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Americans killed by friendly fire.
Quote
5 US troops killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan
Associated Press via Yahoo
By RAHIM FAIEZ
41 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Five Americans troops were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. defense official said Tuesday, in one of the worst such incidents involving United States or coalition troops since the start of the nearly 14 year war.

The official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly to journalists.

The U.S.-led international coalition said the service members were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident, which an Afghan official said took place in southern Zabul province. A statement said all five soldiers died on Monday but did not give further details on the attack or the nationality of the soldiers.

If confirmed, it would be one of the most serious cases involving coalition-on-coalition friendly fire during the war.

"The casualties occurred during a security operation when their unit came into contact with enemy forces. Tragically, there is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved. The incident is under investigation. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed during this difficult time," the coalition said in an announcement.

One of the worst came in April 2002 when four Canadian soldiers were killed when an American F-16 jet fighter dropped a bomb on a group near a night firing exercise in southern Kandahar.

A senior police official in southern Zabul said the coalition soldiers may have been killed when they called for close air support.

Provincial police chief Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Rooghlawanay said there was a joint operation by Afghan and NATO troops in the area's Arghandab district early Monday. After that operation was over, the troops came under attack from the Taliban and called in air support, he said.

"After the operation was over on the way back, the joint forces came under the attack of insurgents, then foreign forces called for an air support. Unfortunately five NATO soldiers and one Afghan army officer were killed mistakenly by NATO air strike," Rooghlawanay said.

There was no way to independently confirm Rooghlawanay's comments. The coalition would not comment and NATO headquarters in Brussels also declined to comment.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack against the joint force.

The insurgents have intensified attacks on Afghan and foreign forces ahead of the country's presidential election runoff Saturday. Officials are concerned there could be more violence around the time of the vote, although the first round in April passed relatively peacefully.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said a battle took place on Monday night between foreign troops and Taliban fighters in the Arghandab district. Ahmadi claimed a "huge number" of NATO soldiers were killed or wounded in the fighting. The Taliban often exaggerate their claims.

Separately, a NATO statement said a service member died Monday as a result of a non-battle injury in eastern Afghanistan.

The deaths bring to 36 the number of NATO soldiers killed so far this year in Afghanistan, with eight service members killed in June.

Casualties have been falling in the U.S.-led military coalition as its forces pull back to allow the Afghan army and police to fight the Taliban insurgency. All combat troops are scheduled to be withdrawn from the country by the end of this year.
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Offline DCPatriot

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5 American Special Operations Forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan in possible friendly fire incident


June 9, 2014: An Afghan policeman stands near a burning NATO supply truck in Behsud district of Jalalabad east of Kabul.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/10/nato-says-5-service-members-killed-in-afghanistan-attack/


Five U.S. soldiers who are Special Operations Forces were killed in a possible friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan on Monday, Defense Department officials say.

A senior U.S. defense official told Fox News early Tuesday that the troops were killed when they requested air support from a B-1 bomber after coming in contact with enemy forces.

Earlier Tuesday, a statement from NATO confirmed the soldiers' deaths, but did not give further details on their nationalities. Coalition policy is for home countries to identify their military dead.

"The casualties occurred during a security operation when their unit came into contact with enemy forces," the statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force read. "Tragically, there is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved. The incident is under investigation. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed during this difficult time."

If confirmed, it would be one of the most serious cases involving coalition on coalition friendly fire during the nearly 14-year Afghan war. One of the worst came in April 2002 when four Canadian soldiers were killed when an American F-16 dropped a bomb on them near a night firing exercise in the southern Kandahar province.

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Offline DCPatriot

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The latest link suggests that the massacre happened after the soldiers called in for air-support.


Seems plausible to me.....

....especially if the Afghan who conducted the 'fratricide' was concerned about innocent civilians in the "target area".


Of course it doesn't make it right.....but it makes it plausible.   :shrug:
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Offline EC

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Friendly fire happens and is a terror for every pilot.

Details are skimpy as yet - they are not even sure if it were a gunship or a B-1 called in, I have seen both statements in different stories.

I find the B-1 idea hard to swallow. You don't call in a bomber while you are in a fire fight, they are nowhere near accurate enough during active firing situations. You call in the gunships, who come in low and relatively slow and make time to know exactly where the guys who's asses you are covering actually are. Even then, mistakes can be made.

It's a sad thing.
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Offline DCPatriot

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Friendly fire happens and is a terror for every pilot.

Details are skimpy as yet - they are not even sure if it were a gunship or a B-1 called in, I have seen both statements in different stories.

I find the B-1 idea hard to swallow. You don't call in a bomber while you are in a fire fight, they are nowhere near accurate enough during active firing situations. You call in the gunships, who come in low and relatively slow and make time to know exactly where the guys who's asses you are covering actually are. Even then, mistakes can be made.

It's a sad thing.

It's a sad testament that the reader needs to be suspect of the source:   the Associated Press (AP)

It's sadder what the United States mainstream media has become.....
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Offline EC

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It's a sad testament that the reader needs to be suspect of the source:   the Associated Press (AP)

It's sadder what the United States mainstream media has become.....

Not just the US media, my friend. I've been following this in the UK media, French, Israeli and English language Arabic media, trying to get a timeline and some definitives. It's a fustercluck of a story right now.
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Offline SlapLeather

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Hmmm... wonder if they knew anything about Bergdahl?

Offline alicewonders

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Not just the US media, my friend. I've been following this in the UK media, French, Israeli and English language Arabic media, trying to get a timeline and some definitives. It's a fustercluck of a story right now.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to find a trustable news source.  Whenever something big happens, the reports you hear the first day or two - are never repeated again, like they never happened. 

Have the Taliban been "stepping it up" lately?  Or am I just more tuned into it right now? 


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Offline EC

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They are picking up the pace in multiple countries.

Though you are also hooked in more as well - once you start seeing the patterns, you can't stop.

Got to the stage now that I won't post something ref. Talis or AQ unless there are two independent reports in my feed.
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Offline alicewonders

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They are picking up the pace in multiple countries.

Though you are also hooked in more as well - once you start seeing the patterns, you can't stop.

Got to the stage now that I won't post something ref. Talis or AQ unless there are two independent reports in my feed.

It's a good idea.  News has to be highly filtered anymore to sift out the truth.  Terrorists seem to be emboldened right now, sensing opportunities.  The rest of us feel impotent when it comes to stopping it.  Our leaders don't appear to have a clue, or they think we're so stupid we don't have a clue (I'm inclined to think it's the latter). 
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What's sad is that their "CIC" doesn't care.
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Offline Fishrrman

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mountaineer wrote above:
[[ What's sad is that their "CIC" doesn't care. ]]

Not so.

He -does- "care".

But he "cares" about "the other side", and wants THEM to win -- not us!

Offline massadvj

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mountaineer wrote above:
[[ What's sad is that their "CIC" doesn't care. ]]

Not so.

He -does- "care".

But he "cares" about "the other side", and wants THEM to win -- not us!

You know, not long ago I'd have dismissed the above statement as right wing paranoia and hyperbole.  But not anymore.  I really do believe he has more sympathy with the Taliban than he does for the USA, which he sees as an imperialistic presence in the country. 

Offline Fishrrman

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massadvj wrote (regarding a post I made):
[[ You know, not long ago I'd have dismissed the above statement as right wing paranoia and hyperbole.  But not anymore. ]]

There was never any right-wing paranoia involved.

Obama telegraphed his intent before he became a presidential candidate.

There was never any doubt regarding which side he supported.

Even a dummy like me could see and understand this. All one had to do is to look.

Obama's own words, from "Audacity of Hope":
"I will stand with the muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

How much more information does one need?

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It would be interesting what the B-1 crew has to say about this.
« Last Edit: June 11, 2014, 03:59:58 am by Trigger »

Offline Ford289HiPo

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Friendly fire happens and is a terror for every pilot.

Details are skimpy as yet - they are not even sure if it were a gunship or a B-1 called in, I have seen both statements in different stories.

I find the B-1 idea hard to swallow. You don't call in a bomber while you are in a fire fight, they are nowhere near accurate enough during active firing situations. You call in the gunships, who come in low and relatively slow and make time to know exactly where the guys who's asses you are covering actually are. Even then, mistakes can be made.

It's a sad thing.

From a Group page:  5th Grp guys, 2-3 SF, 1 EOD, & 1-2 ANA
(5th Special Forces Group, Explosive Ordinance Disposal, Afghan National Army)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/world/asia/friendly-fire-strike-kills-5-special-operations-soldiers-in-afghanistan.html?smid=fb-share

RIP guys.

Apparently, different commands don't get along in the area of operations. Instead of acting like big boys and giving the troops the support they need, they give them "whatever".
I wonder when the lies will stop and truth begin, even as grim as the truth may be. And then I remember that for 70 years, the reign of terror in Russia called itself "the people's government." We have so far to fall, yet we are falling fast and Hell yawns to receive us.

SPQR

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Friendly fire happens and is a terror for every pilot.

Details are skimpy as yet - they are not even sure if it were a gunship or a B-1 called in, I have seen both statements in different stories.

I find the B-1 idea hard to swallow. You don't call in a bomber while you are in a fire fight, they are nowhere near accurate enough during active firing situations. You call in the gunships, who come in low and relatively slow and make time to know exactly where the guys who's asses you are covering actually are. Even then, mistakes can be made.

It's a sad thing.

The only reason they use the B-1 bombers is that they can fly in low altitude and the plane can loiter around a specific area for hours to deliver that JDAM. It has had a 97 percent success rate to deliver the joint direct attack munition.  Somebody messed up on the ground on giving the wrong coordinates to the plane
« Last Edit: June 11, 2014, 06:17:37 am by Trigger »