| Topic: |
Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus |
| User: |
"The Court Fool" |
| Date: |
30 Jun 2005 11:37:31 AM |
| Object: |
N. Korea: Reactor Work Resumed? / Afghanistan: Chinook Crash Casualties Found |
N. Korea: Reactor Work Resumed?
June 30, 2005 15 00 GMT
Citing U.S. sources in Washington, the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai
Shumbun reported June 30 that North Korea had resumed work on the
construction of two nuclear reactors rated at 50 and 200 megawatts. A
Seoul official disputed that South Korea had any direct evidence that
the Yongbyon and Thaechon plants, capable of producing weapons-grade
plutonium, were being restarted. Both sites were suspended under the
1994 Agreed Framework, which promised substitute energy aid that was
never delivered.
Afghanistan: Chinook Crash Casualties Found
June 30, 2005 14 30 GMT
The bodies of 13 U.S. soldiers were recovered June 30 from the crash
site of the Chinook helicopter which went down in Afghanistan on June
28. The bodies of seven soldiers, some of whom were fighting on the
ground, are unaccounted for.
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| User: "=?iso-8859-1?q?Wally_Lorne=99?=" |
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| Title: Afghanistan: Chinook Crash Casualties Found |
30 Jun 2005 10:22:03 PM |
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16 Bodies Recovered in Afghan Copter Crash
DAVID S. CLOUD and CARLOTTA GALL
Published: July 1, 2005
WASHINGTON, June 30 - Nearly three days after a Chinook helicopter went
down in heavy combat in eastern Afghanistan, American troops were able
to reach the crash site and recovered the bodies of all 16 troops who
were aboard, military officials said.
But Pentagon officials said Thursday that combat in the area was
continuing and that commanders in Washington lacked complete
information about troops who had been fighting insurgents in the
vicinity when the helicopter crashed Tuesday.
"There's an ongoing rescue mission, and we just don't have any more to
confirm than what we have confirmed," said Lawrence Di Rita, the chief
Pentagon spokesman, at a briefing for reporters. Earlier reports of 17
people on the aircraft were mistaken, the military said.
The MH-47 Chinook was carrying Navy Seal commandos and an Army air
crew, members of a force that had been sent out as urgently needed
reinforcements after radio calls from troops already in place saying
they were in combat with insurgents, a senior military official said.
American forces were fighting a large group of suspected Taliban
insurgents and rescue efforts have been impeded by the continuing
fighting and the difficult mountainous conditions of the region.
"Afghan National Army and Coalition forces remain actively engaged in
Operation Red Wing, an effort to defeat terrorists operating in Kunar
Province. Forces are also in position to impede any enemy movement into
or away from the crash site," the United States military in Kabul said
in a statement.
Asked about the troops who requested reinforcements, Lt. Gen. James
Conway, director of operations for the joint chiefs of staff, said, "we
don't have full accountability, nor will we until such time as the
operation is complete."
After the Chinook went down, a second helicopter nearby returned to
base, and soon after that the United States lost a live video feed from
the location from the Predator drone flying overhead, according to a
senior Pentagon official. The official said the Predator was believed
to have crashed as well. Another official said the crash appeared not
to have been caused by hostile fire.
Details of the operation have been sketchy, but several consistent
accounts have been provided by military spokesmen, other military
officials and people outside the military who have been told about
events. Those who provided these accounts would not be named, as the
situation remained fluid and involved special operations forces.
Soon after the crash, additional aircraft were sent to the crash site
to provide air cover for any survivors, and more troops were dropped
off in two locations several miles away with orders to make their way
to the crash site and to reinforce the other American troops in the
area. Poor weather and difficult terrain, as well as continuing combat,
delayed their arrival at the site.
Family members of troops on the Chinook have been told that no one
survived the crash, but forensic identification of the bodies was still
being completed, the senior Pentagon official said.
A Taliban spokesman, Abdullah Latif Hakimi, claimed responsibility for
the Chinook crash. He said Taliban forces had killed seven American
servicemen - whom he called "spies" - when the Taliban encountered them
on the ground. It was impossible to independently confirm his claims.
David S. Cloud reported from Washington for this article, and Carlotta
Gall from Kabul.
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All 16 Aboard U.S. Helicopter Found Dead in Afghanistan
By Daryl Strickland, Times Staff Writer
The remains of 16 American troops have been recovered in eastern
Afghanistan, where a military helicopter crashed after coming under
hostile fire this week, the Pentagon said today.
The military originally said 17 service members were onboard the
American Chinook helicopter. But Lt. Gen. James Conway, director of
operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a
Washington press conference that the death toll had been revised down,
saying no other troops were lost "that we're aware of."
"At this point, we have recovered all 16 bodies of those servicemen who
were onboard the MH-47 helicopter that crashed on Tuesday," and they
were being identified, Conway said.
Despite a search for survivors that had been hampered by rough terrain,
bad weather and military clashes, Conway added, "We do not have any
people classified as missing at this point."
There is no indication to believe anyone survived the crash and later
died, Conway said.
The helicopter was ferrying reinforcements for U.S. forces fighting "to
defeat Al Qaeda militants and deny them influence in the Kunar
province," according to a military statement released Wednesday.
The Kunar province, which shares a 217-mile border with Pakistan, has
been a battleground for fighting insurgents since the Taliban fell in
2001.
The helicopter crash was the second of a Chinook this year in
Afghanistan and follows three months of intensified fighting there. In
April, 15 U.S. service members and three American civilians were killed
during a sandstorm. Over this period, more than 450 suspected
insurgents have been killed, with nearly 50 Afghan police and soldiers
and 29 U.S. troops.
In the latest case, the helicopter crashed in the mountains near
Asadabad and slipped into a deep ravine after it was attacked with
rocket-propelled grenades as it approached a landing area, the military
said. A second U.S. aircraft flying near the helicopter reported the
hostile fire.
Conway described the rocket-propelled grenade hit as a "pretty lucky
shot" against a moving helicopter. He said he has seen no other signs
of attackers using more sophisticated weapons.
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