35 minutes ago
Pentagon: Firefight continues at site of Afghan attack
By Heath Druzin and Tara Copp
Stars and Stripes
Published: January 5, 2016
Saeed Shah/TNS
KABUL, Afghanistan — One U.S. servicemember was killed and two others injured, as American and Afghan troops came under rifle and mortar fire Tuesday in Helmand province, a military spokesman confirmed.
The servicemembers, along with their Afghan counterparts, came under fire during a train, advise and assist mission in the city of Marjah, said Peter Cook, press secretary for the Pentagon. Several Afghan soldiers also were injured in the attack.
Two HH-60 Pave Hawk medevac helicopters responded to assist the casualties. One was waved off and left the scene safely, Cook said. The second landed but its main rotor blade was damaged when the helicopter hit a wall, he said.
Cook said the firefight on the ground was not over as of late Tuesday in Afghanistan, making it more difficult to know the number of casualties or whether the Taliban were responsible for the damage to the second helicopter.
"There may still be Americans on the ground engaging with the enemy," he said. "This is a fluid situation."
Cook was not able to say whether all the U.S. casualties occurred during the firefight on the ground, or whether some of the injuries were connected to the medevac helicopter that responded.
U.S. defense officials had previously said the second helicopter could have been damaged on the ground by mortar fire. The damaged helicopter was still not able to move as of late Tuesday.
A statement released by U.S. Forces-Afghanistan confirmed one U.S. servicemember died as a result of the incident and two others were injured. The Department of Defense did not immediately release the name of the soldier killed. The death marks the first U.S. servicemember killed in 2016, which happened near Marjah, where thousands of American troops battled six years ago to control the city.
"We are deeply saddened by this loss," said Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman. "On behalf of General Campbell and all of (U.S. Forces-Afghanistan) our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those involved."
U.S. special forces have been on the ground in Helmand province for weeks to aid beleaguered Afghan soldiers who are at risk of losing the province to the Taliban. Insurgents have taken over several districts and have made it to the outskirts of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
An eyewitness to the fighting in Helmand reached by phone Tuesday said there were multiple operations ongoing with U.S. forces assisting Afghans in a bid to retake territory from the Taliban.
For the past year, the U.S.-led international military coalition in Afghanistan has called its mission “non-combat” and foreign casualties have dropped off significantly. Troops are still in harm’s way and more have been drawn back into fighting as their Afghan counterparts have struggled.
Six Air Force airmen were killed Dec. 21 north of Kabul when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden motorcycle into their foot patrol.
Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this report
http://www.stripes.com/pentagon-firefight-continues-at-site-of-afghan-attack-1.387208
