Nato helicopter shooting 'a lucky shot' - Telegraph.co.uk

RPGs are short-ranged, inaccurate weapons for hitting aircraft and while Taliban fighters regularly fire them at helicopters, it is rare to bring them down.

The close range and the fact the helicopter was vulnerable while taking off could have conspired to make a "lucky shot" said one official. Flares which work as decoys against heat-seeking missiles are ineffective against RPGs.

"We are not seeing it as a game changer. This was not a new tactic and it wasn't a new weapon," he said.

"Ambushing" aircraft as they take off or land is a common tactic of insurgents who surround Nato bases in parts of southern and eastern Afghanistan.

The previous single biggest Nato death toll in the country saw 16 American soldiers killed in 2005 when a Taliban rocket hit their Chinook in the eastern province of Kunar.

Two aircrew were wounded more recently when an RPG hit their CH-47F Chinook helicopter on July 25.

Nato commanders do not believe the attack showed the Taliban have acquired more sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles such as the Stingers used against the Soviets by the Afghan Mujahideen.

The helicopter crashed on the floor of the Tangi valley, by a river bed close to the villages of Hassan Kheyl and Joya Zareen in Wardak province, according to residents.

Fighting in the area had continued after the raid into Saturday and Sunday.

Eight insurgents were killed in the initial raid including a low-level insurgent commander called Gul Nabi and his deputy Mullah Ahmad Shah, a spokesman for Wardak's governor said.

A further 12 insurgents had been killed in subsequent fighting.

The valley, about 60 miles south west of Kabul, is renowned as an insurgent haven and until earlier this year held a US army outpost.

American troops pulled out and the outpost was not taken up by Afghan forces, residents said.

"The Taliban have been very active there since the Americans left. They were walking around with their weapons during the day and controlling everything," said one villager who declined to be named.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed the Chinook had been shot by a band of four men who had since fled the area to avoid American troops hunting them.

"They moved from that area to a safe area, we are in contact with them," he said.

British politicians offered their condolences to America over the deaths, saying they should not weaken international resolve.

David Cameron said the victims had "made the ultimate sacrifice in helping to protect our security, and to build a more stable and peaceful Afghanistan."

Alistair Burt, foreign minister, said: "However it happened, the loss of so many forces is a matter of deep regret. It is terribly sad.

"We will go on. The determination of both the US, ourselves and the people of Afghanistan to make their country secure for the future is undiminished by an incident like that, though it reminds us of the cost."

Among the first names of victims to be reported were Aaron Carson Vaughn, of Tennessee, and Jon Tumilson of Rockford, Iowa.

Two French soldiers were killed and five others injured in a clash with insurgents in Afghanistan's northeastern Tagab valley.

The soldiers were taking part in a reconnaissance mission Sunday morning when they came under fire, Nicolas Sarkozy's office said in a statement. "Several" of the insurgents were killed or injured in the clash.