Troops Push Toward Afghan Crash Site of U.S. Helicopter

Rescue Teams Impeded by Insurgent Gunfire, Stormy Weather

MAZAR-E SHARIF, Afghanistan, June 29 -- American troops were still fighting their way toward the crash site of a U.S. military helicopter Wednesday evening, more than 24 hours after the aircraft was shot down in eastern Afghanistan with 17 troops aboard, U.S. military officials said.

The fate of the crew and passengers remained unknown, while persistent efforts by U.S. ground troops, supported by bombardment from attack aircraft, to reach the site were thwarted by gunfire, stormy weather and the heavily forested, hilly terrain of Konar province, near the Pakistani border.

"We do hope and pray that everyone is safe," said Col. James Yonts, a U.S. military spokesman, speaking by telephone from Kabul, the capital. But military officials in Washington said no signs of life had been detected as rescue teams struggled to reach the craft.

The downed helicopter, a Special Operations variant of the CH-47 Chinook, was carrying a team of Navy SEALs to be implanted in the combat zone, according to a senior defense official in Washington.

Troops on a second helicopter nearby reported Tuesday that the craft was likely brought down by ground fire. Other military officials said it might have been downed by a grenade or crashed while evading fire as it approached a landing zone. It went down in a rugged area about 10,000 feet in elevation, officials said.

Further hampering the rescue effort was the loss of a Predator drone that had provided imagery of the crash area Wednesday, according to the senior official. That aircraft might also have been shot down, the official said.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate committee that the incident appeared "to be a shootdown of one of our Special Operations helicopters," probably by a rocket-propelled grenade. "Our hearts go out to their families," Pace said.

Yonts told the Associated Press that the helicopter was taking fire from the ground when it crashed. "It is a very strong and determined enemy," he said.

The incident followed a three-month escalation of armed clashes that have killed between 240 and 465 suspected anti-government fighters, 29 U.S. troops, 43 Afghan police officers and soldiers, and 125 civilians.

Taliban and al Qaeda forces were once believed to have been reduced to a marginal force in the country, and a peaceful presidential election was held in October. Since then, however, insurgents have stepped up attacks, apparently hoping to sabotage parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

U.S. officials said it was not clear if the insurgent forces in the crash were from the revived Taliban militia or included foreigners. A Taliban spokesman has asserted responsibility for the attack. Afghan officials have repeatedly complained of fighters slipping into the country from Pakistan.

U.S. military officials would not comment on the number of forces involved, but they said the helicopter was shuttling troops into the area as part of Operation Red Wing, a sweep aimed at capturing or killing al Qaeda militiamen.