Taliban Claim Of Chopper Down Confirmed; 13 US Soldiers Killed

Jihad Unspun | July 2 2004

Abdul Lateef Hakeem, official spokesman for the Taliban said on Thursday that Taliban Mujahideen shot down a US military helicopter in Zabul province, killing all 13 US soldiers people on board. The chopper aircraft was shot down by "a new weapon" and crashed in Kharmany village in the province, hakeen said. The Taliban claim has now been confirmed by independent sources, including the Afghan Islamic Press and the Pak Tribune. The US military had no comment on the incident.

Taliban Mujahideen also attacked a Coalition convoy in Uruzgan, destroying four vehicles and killing eight Coalition soldiers. Four others were wounded in the attack.

In another incident, a US military convoy was ambushed in Zabul and Taliban Mujahideen claim they have inflicted heavy loss on the US forces. The exact number of casualties is not yet confirmed at the time of this filing.
The Taliban have also captured 12 Afghan truck drivers who were taking supplies to US-led coalition bases in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday. Taliban spokesman Abdul Lateef Hakeem made the announcement.

“We claim responsibility for destroying four trucks, and kidnapping the drivers. They were transporting foodstuffs for the Americans, they were feeding the Americans” he said.

The truck convoy was on its way from southern Kandahar province to neighboring Uruzgan when it was stopped in a valley between the two provinces. Taliban Mujahideen set fire to their four vehicles and the drivers and other staff in the convoy were taken hostage.

Hakeem also admitted the Taliban have captured a foreign woman and an Afghan man after officials reported an Australian journalist and her Afghan assistant and driver missing. Taliban spokesman Hamid Agha confirmed the incident with Reuters on Wednesday but said he did not know if the woman was a journalist.