<

Seven U.S. Marines Die in Pakistan Air Crash
Wednesday, January 9, 2002
By Edward Alden
The Financial Times

WASHINGTON
A US military transport aircraft on Wednesday crashed in the mountains of southwestern Pakistan, killing all seven marines on board, inculding the first US forces woman to be killed in service in Afghanistan.

The plane, which had been making several stops on a mission to the US forward operating base in Shamsi near the Afghanistan border, burst into flames, witnesses told the Associated Press. The plane was making a landing approach at the time of the crash.

Pentagon officials said there was no indication of any enemy fire that could have led to the incident. The plane can be used either for transporting soldiers or for in-flight refuelling of other aircraft and helicopters.

The deaths mark the most serious loss of US life so far in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The US lost its first soldier to hostile fire last week when he was ambushed near Kabul, and a Central Intelligence Agency officer was killed earlier during a prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif. Two US Army rangers also died in Pakistan in October when a helicopter crashed, and a US bomb that went astray accidentally killed three US troops last month.

Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, told reporters that he would wait for the investigation to be completed before commenting. "It is a tough, dangerous business over there," he said. "They're doing difficult things and they're doing them darned well and it just breaks your heart."
(FT.com News Source)
2002 © The Financial Times, Ltd.

Dan