14 Britons die Afghanistan plane crash

What a sad day for our friends overseas



Karmen.

By NOOR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A NATO plane crashed Saturday, killing 14 Britons in the worst loss of life for the alliance since it took control of the fight against insurgents in south Afghanistan a month ago, but officials said there was no indication hostile fire was involved.

The crash came a day after fighting across the volatile south killed nine Afghan policemen, at least 13 suspected Taliban and a British soldier.

A purported Taliban spokesman claimed guerrillas shot the plane down in Kandahar province with a Stinger missile, but British Defense Secretary Des Browne said the crash appeared to be "a terrible accident."

Abdul Manan, a witness in Chalaghor village, said the plane crashed about 100 yards from his home, and pieces of wreckage landed nearby. He reported seeing a small fire at the back of the plane before it hit the ground with a huge explosion that "shook the whole village."

Afghan and NATO troops are conducting a major operation against insurgents in Panjwayi district, where Chalaghor is located, but Manan said the fighting was centered about six miles from the village.

The "aircraft was supporting a NATO mission. It went off the radar and crashed in an open area" about 12 miles west of Kandahar city, said Maj. Scott Lundy, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

A NATO statement said the plane's crew reported a technical problem before going down. It said that "enemy action has been discounted at this stage."

The British Ministry of Defense said the dead included 12 Royal Air Force personnel, a Royal Marine and an army soldier.

In the deadliest clash Friday, insurgents attacked a police checkpoint, killing five officers and wounding seven in the Grieshk district of Helmand province, about 250 miles southwest of Kabul, said Ghulam Muhiddin, the Helmand governor's spokesman.

Police returned fire and killed three Taliban and wounded two, he said, but the attackers fled with four captured officers. Muhiddin said hundreds of police were hunting for them Saturday.

Suspected Taliban militants also ambushed a convoy carrying a district police chief in southwestern Nimroz province, killing the commander, Juma Khan, and three policemen, Nimroz Gov. Ghulam Dasthaqir said. Police killed three of the ambushers, he said.

Four Taliban were killed in an exchange of fire with police in the Garamsair district of southern Zabul province, district police chief Ghulam Rasool said. He said police suffered no casualties.

In a remote part of Zabul, a police raid on a Taliban hide-out triggered a shootout that killed three insurgents, provincial police chief Noor Mohammad Paktin said.

Insurgents killed a British soldier and wounded another in Helmand, where Britain has deployed nearly 4,000 troops as part of the NATO-led security force.

In eastern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber in an explosives-laden Toyota attacked a convoy of Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops in Nangarhar province, provincial police spokesman Ghafor Khan said. He said a coalition solider, an Afghan soldier and an Afghan translator were wounded.

A coalition spokeswoman, Lt. Tamara Lawrence, confirmed a coalition soldier and an Afghan soldier were wounded, but said it was a roadside bomb.

[Keith Webb]

Very sad indeed. The aircraft was reportedly a Nimrod.

Here's a link to a story on the BBC.