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A man reads the front page of a newspaper featuring the news that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead deep inside Pakistan in a night-time helicopter raid by US covert forces, ending a decade-long manhunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. Hes also sent more than his fair share of curious retweets, often of the accounts of conspiracy theorists and those associated with QAnon and other outlandish conspiracy frameworks. No family members were allowed to testify. So the whole team went in one Chinook helicopter -- Extortion 17. Legal Statement. And it even led Robert ONeill, the Trump-supporting Navy Seal who claims to have fired the shot that killed Bin Laden, to tweet that the conspiracy theories both about the Bin Laden double and about the Seals from the raid having been killed arent true. Its lawyers have told the judge that the process of locating relevant documents and removing classified information takes time. A US helicopter crashed in Afghanistan yesterday killing 31 special operation troops, most of them from the elite Navy Seals unit that killed Osama bin Laden. At this difficult hour, all Americans are united in support of our men and women in uniform who serve so that we can live in freedom and security.". A catastrophic crash seemed unavoidable. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. The shootdown was the single, deadliest loss of U.S. forces in the war. SEAL Team Six was assigned three pre-invasion missions: two clandestine political missions relating to regime change on the island, and reconnaissance from the sea of the new airfield under construction on the island's southwest coast. It marked the greatest single incident loss of American life in the war in Afghanistan, the deadliest moment in the history of SEAL Team Six and the entirety of the Navy SEALs, and the deadliest single incident in the history of U.S. Special Operations Command. Families suspect SEAL Team 6 crash was inside job on worst day in On this night, Aug. 6, 2011, something went terribly wrong. Justin Buddy Lee will never forget that night six years ago. .css-v1xtj3{display:block;font-family:FreightSansW01,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:100;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-v1xtj3:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.1387rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-v1xtj3{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}Russian Cargo Plane Explodes During Pressure Test, Air Force's IRON Wireless Network Protects Nukes, Watch Opposition Group Land Drone on Russian Jet, Pentagon's Mysterious Aircraft Won't Need a Runway, The Secret War to Take out Iran's F-14 Fighters, Meet the E-7 Wedgetail, the Air Forces New Plane, Report: Pilot Error Ruined a $112 Million F-35 Jet, Air Force Grounds Jets: Their Tails May Fall Off, The Messy Battle to Build the F-35's Next Engine, Russia Dredges Up Ancient BTR-50 Vehicles. "So much of the war is fought in areas where these helicopters have to fly at high altitudes," where the thin air can strain the performance of the engines and rotor blades, said Ed Darack, author of the recently published book, The Final Mission of Extortion 17: Special Ops, Helicopter Support, SEAL Team Six and the Deadliest Day of the U.S. War in Afghanistan. At 2:38 a.m. on August 6, 2011, a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, entered the western opening of Afghanistan's restive Tangi Valley, flying alone. A number of the DEVGRU SEALs were devastated by this loss . "Sometimes the enemy just gets that terribly lucky shot. Nearby, there were two enemy fighters with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Darack did extensive research of what happened next. The landing zone was small, and the commanders didnt want to split up the strike force. Nobody tipped off the fightersnor could anyone have alerted them. At the pilots request, the AC-130 flashed an infrared spotlight, which could be seen only through night vision goggles, to light up the landing zone. Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, was one of the U.S. Navy SEALS killed in the helicopter crash. The ensuing crash killed all 16 on board, eight Army special operations aviators, and eight Navy SEALs. Osama bin Ladens personal journal was also recovered. And they sent our guys right into the middle.. A CH-47D Chinook helicopter lands at a small landing zone at Firebase Blessing, in eastern Afghanistans restive Kunar Province at the start of a combat operation. "We've allowed politics to become more important than the lives and safety of those men and women," he says. Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. The Taliban, of course, has taken credit, saying it shot down the helo during a special forces raid on a home. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Almost 10 years after 9/11, here's what led to the death of Osama bin Laden. Navy SEALs from unit that killed bin Laden among those lost in Forces to the threat of spying. As they made their approach, there was a line of thunderstorms nearby. Things like Benghazi and the NSA. Market data provided by Factset. One of the engines flew off, and the other caught fire. House panel probing chopper crash that killed SEAL Team 6 members The U.S. military claimed that the Chinook was blown to pieces by a shoulder-fired missile, in which everyone on board was burned beyond recognition. "Chance will always play a role in war," stated Justin "Buddy" Lee, the commander of Extortion Company, who had flown with Dave Carter the night before Extortion 17's demise on a similar raid, and who had co-piloted a number of missions with Bryan Nichols. 22 Navy SEALs dead in Afghan chopper crash - CBS News We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. Hours earlier, pilots Carter and Nichols and crewmembers Specialist Spencer Duncan, Sergeant Pat Hamburger, and Sergeant Alex Bennett, along with pilots and crew of a sister Chinook, Extortion 16, inserted a strike force in the central Tangi Valley. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. The sheer amount of experience with our pilots, flight engineers and back-seaters and mechanics offered a wealth of knowledge, he said. On May 2, 2011, U.S. Special Forces raided an al-Qaeda compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed the worlds most wanted terrorist: Osama bin Laden. So, to do an infil on the X or Y, you know, having that element of surprise in the beginning of an operation is good, but by the time weve been there for three hours, and the partys up, bringing in another aircraft like that, you know, may not be the most tactically sound decision.. Ten computer hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices were retrieved. Aug. 6, 2011 -- A helicopter was shot down today by Afghan insurgents as it was rushing to aid troops in a firefight, killing 30 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs, most of whom belonged to Team 6, the unit whose members were involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said. Strange also blamed top military brass for sending the troops into a situation they were allegedly ill-equipped and unprepared to handle. Karen Vaughn says she wants to know why her son Aaron and his team were not using special operations aircraft which have defenses in place to help allow helicopters to go deep behind enemy lines. Photo: AP, Thousands of passengers are stranded after Colombias Viva Air grounds flights, The last of Mexicos artisanal salt-makers preserve a 2,000-year-old tradition, I cannot give up: Cambodian rapper says he will sing about injustice despite threats from govt, Ukrainian rock star reflects on a year of war in his country, Ukrainian refugees in Poland will now be charged to stay in state-funded housing, This Colombian town is dimming its lights to attract more tourists to view the night sky, Kneel and apologize!: 76 years after island-wide massacre, Taiwan continues to commemorate and debate the tragedy. Not all will end as well as bin Laden's takedown, as PM noted in July. The families of these deceased heroes have been stonewalled by the Obama Department of Defense and the Obama National Security Agency in disrespect over their sons unexplained tragic deaths. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Youve got [Apaches] flying around, so theres a lot of noise going on and, basically, this entire valley knows that theres something happening in this area. Theyre going after [enemy fighters] in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. What in the world was that Navy Seals conspiracy that Trump retweeted? He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. The U.S. Army knows the risks when it plans air assault operations in Afghanistan. Or when something went terribly wrong. Portraits of Navy SEALs killed in helicopter crash | Fox News AP sources: Crash kills members of SEAL Team 6. I will never forget what they did, he said. Call Sign Extortion 17 - Wikipedia Seven Afghan commandos were also reportedly killed. The military's public c Read allOn a moonless night, an Army helicopter carrying 17 members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, is shot down in Afghanistan. They were part of the same Army Reserve unit, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment based in Gardner, Kan. Nichols, with three combat tours of duty, also had plenty of experience flying dangerous missions. Although the Taliban have claimed to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have only identified the attackers as insurgents. The Obama administration is violating a judge's order to turn over documents in the Aug. 6, 2011, shootdown of a U.S. helicopter call sign Extortion 17 that killed members of SEAL Team 6 . But no one died. Following a helicopter crash, the SEAL Team must proceed with the mission as hostiles bear down on them and an injured and impaired Jason goes after their target alone. 20+ Members Of SEAL Team Six Killed In Afghanistan Helicopter Crash They dont even produce under their own self-imposed deadline, Mr. Klayman told The Washington Times. Family members are hoping Freedom Watch, a watchdog legal group led by Larry Klayman, can force new disclosures using the power of the FOIA process. Were pleading with the judge to do something, and hes just sitting on it., In one of his motions, Mr. Klayman stated: As this Court must be aware, this is not an ordinary Freedom of Information Act case, it involves obtaining records concerning the deaths of Navy SEAL Team 6 and other special operations forces on a mission with the call sign Extortion 17. The next day, a DNA test confirmed that the body was indeed that of Osama bin Laden. She had just given birth to their first child. SEAL Team 6 and what really happened on America's deadliest day in As more responsibilities fall on the shoulders of special forces, the risk of more losses like this one will continue to increase. The missions commanders decided to insert another team to go after Tahir while the Rangers held the compound. ", "The hearts and minds of our enemy are more valuable to our government than my son's blood," she said. Image:U.S. PresidentDonaldTrumpholds a campaign rally at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 13, 2020. Ninty-six days after the death of Osama bin Laden by SEAL Team Six, an old Vietnam era Army Reserve helicopter, call sign "Extortion 17," was shot down in the Wardak Province, Tangi River Valley, Afghanistan on Aug 6, 2011.On board the Chinook CH-47D were 15 members of SEAL Team Six, 15 SEAL Team Six Support personnel, 1 Bomb Dog, 7 unidentified members of the Afghan National Army, and 1 . The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. Chinooks are American forces' preferred helicopters in Afghanistan because they are powerful enough fly over mountains while carrying a full complement of troops. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data. Its almost always a miss.. It requires the highest level of skills from the pilots because they are some of the most dangerous operations.. Up to 30 Dead in Afghanistan Following Failed Prison Heist, Total Iraq and Afghanistan Pricetag: Over $4 Trillion. On the fourth anniversary of the worst one-day loss of military life in the war on terror, families of the dead say they are aghast that the government will not honor basic requests under the Freedom of Information Act. He was too busy. Military officers interviewed by investigators said they could not recall an IRF ever being sent for such a mission. The second probe, led by Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Colt, explained in excruciating detail what all those familiar with military operations and helicopter aviation in Afghanistan already knew: chance and chance alone, took down Extortion 17. The Joint Combat Assessment Team report identified, through detailed metallurgical analysis, the type of projectile that blew Extortion 17 out of the sky: an antipersonnel unguided ballistic rocket propelled grenade. And the shooters had no reason to know that Extortion 17 or any other helicopter would be flying through their quiet extremity of the valley. SEAL TEAM SIX - Extortion 17 EXPOSED - YouTube Coincidence or not, any Chinook shoot-down is a coup for the Taliban. They knew. "SEAL Team" The Graveyard of Empires (TV Episode 2018) - IMDb