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WASHINGTON: The United States assured the world on Sunday that the loss of 30 elite soldiers has further strengthened its resolve to “stay the course” in Afghanistan. Earlier, US officials confirmed that 30 American troops, an interpreter and seven Afghan soldiers were killed on Saturday during an anti-Taliban operation in Maidan-Wardak province.
President Barack Obama said the United States would draw inspiration from the lives of those who were lost and continue the work of securing Afghanistan and standing up for the values they embodied.
“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,” he added. Defence Secretary Leon E. Panetta said the US “will stay the course” and “complete that mission” for which these soldiers and “all who have served and lost their lives in Afghanistan have made the ultimate sacrifice”.
Military chief Admiral Mike Mullen said the US needed to remain committed to the mission of these soldiers. “The fight goes on.”
Officials at the Pentagon confirmed that 25 of the dead were from US Navy SEAL team 6, the same unit that provided the troops for the May 2 raid that killed the Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.
Although the US media quoted Afghan and unidentified US officials as saying that a rocket fired by Taliban fighters struck the Chinook helicopter carrying the US and Afghan forces, the Pentagon is reluctant to confirm this information.
“Information is still coming in about this incident,” said Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. “I think it’s important that we allow investigators to do their work before jumping to too many conclusions.”
The strike was the worst to hit coalition troops since American and other international forces invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
