Afghan Official: Helo Shootdown
Was a Taliban Trap
August 08, 2011 Agence France-
Presse The Taliban lured U.S. forces into an
elaborate trap to shoot down their
helicopter, killing 30 American troops
in the deadliest such incident of the
war, an Afghan official said Monday. A total of 38 people -- 30 U.S. troops,
many of them special forces, plus
seven Afghan commandos and an
interpreter -- were killed when their
Chinook came down during an anti-
Taliban operation late Friday. The crash marked the biggest single
loss of life for American and NATO
forces since the U.S.-led invasion of
Afghanistan toppled the Taliban in late
2001, shortly after the Sept. 11
attacks.