- (AFP) - Two US special forces soldiers were killed and
20 others wounded north of Kandahar when a B-52 bomber dropped a 2,000-pound
bomb too close to them, US military officials said. Afghan opposition forces
also suffered casualties.
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- It was the worst casualty toll suffered by US forces
in a single incident since the Afghan campaign began October 7, and marked
the second time that US warplanes had mistakenly struck their own forces.
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- "At approximately 12:30 am EST today (0530 GMT),
two US service members were killed and 20 more injured when a B-52, flying
in support of opposition forces north of Kandahar, dropped its ordnance
in close proximity to friendly forces," the US Central Command said
Wednesday.
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- "An unknown number of Afghan opposition fighters
were also killed or wounded in this incident," it said in a statement
from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
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- The satellite-guided bomb missed its target, landing
too close to the American and opposition forces, said Air Force Lieutenant
Colonel Martin, a spokesman for the command.
-
- Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the US forces
involved were "US special forces who are working in support of Afghan
opposition groups in the vicinity of Kandahar."
-
- Afghan opposition forces operating north of Kandahar
belong to Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun leader chosen to head an interim Afghan
government, said Victoria Clarke, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson.
-
- She had no information on a report that Karzai was among
the Afghans injured.
-
- The casualties -- both Afghan and American -- were being
evacuated to the marines Forward Operating Base Rhino, south of Kandahar,
for initial medical treatment, she said.
-
- Compton said he had no breakdown on how many of the wounded
were in serious condition.
-
- "I've heard everything from walking wounded to serious,"
he said.
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- US troops with more serious wounds may be transferred
from there for more comprehensive medical treatment, officials said.
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- "Our thoughts and prayers are going out to them
and to their family," said Clarke.
-
- "Every single day there are men and women who are
willing to put their necks on the line, and put themselves in great danger
and we appreciate what they do."
-
- The dropped by the B-52 was a 900-kilogram (2,000-pound)
joint direct attack munition, known as GBU-31, the officials said.
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- The deaths of the two American soldiers brought to three
the number of US combat deaths in Afghanistan after the killing of a CIA
operative in a prison riot near Mazar-i-Sharif late last month.
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- Two other US service members were killed in a helicopter
crash in Pakistan October 20 while on stand-by during a US commando raid
into southern Afghanistan.
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- In a previous "friendly fire" incident, five
US troops were wounded by a 500-pound bomb during fighting November 25
to put down a prison revolt at Mazar-i-Sharif.
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- Copyright © 2001 AFP. All rights reserved.
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- US 'Smart' Bomb Killed American Troops In
Afghanistan
- 12-5-1
-
- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
2,000-pound "smart" bomb that killed two U.S. special forces
troops and injured 20 others in Afghanistan Wednesday is one of the most
modern and precise weapons in America's military arsenal.
-
- Such "JDAMs" (joint direct attack munitions)
bombs were developed after the 1991 Gulf War for more precise day and night
use against ground targets through fog, clouds or other bad weather.
-
- The bombs are guided using movable fins and a satellite
positioning system. It was not immediately clear why the bomb, dropped
by a B-52 bomber, missed Taliban troops which were firing mortars at U.S.
and anti-Taliban forces north of the city of Kandahar.
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- Once released from an aircraft, the JDAM navigates by
itself to designated target coordinates on the ground. Those coordinates
can be loaded into the jet before takeoff, manually changed by the aircraft
crew before release or automatically entered into the bomb with target
sensors on the aircraft.
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- In its most accurate mode, the bomb is designed to hit
within 40 feet of the target.
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- The JDAM bombs, which are dropped in both 1,000-pound
and 2,000-pound versions, are used by a wide range of attack aircraft including
big bombers and smaller Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps attack jets.
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