All 16 US members die in chopper crash in Afghanistan: Coalition says

All 16 American service members on board the MH-47 helicopter that crashed Tuesday in Afghan eastern province of Kunar died in the crash, US military confirmed Friday.

Eight Navy SEALs were also included in the dead, it said.

From 1962 when the first SEAL teams were commissioned, to present day, Navy SEALs have distinguished themselves as an individually reliable, collectively disciplined and highly skilled maritime force, and have gone through what is considered by many military experts to be the toughest training in the world.

There were 16 service members on board, not 17 as previously reported. The remains are being identified. The service members' names will be released once their next-of-kin have been notified, US military said.

The cause of the crash is being investigated. More information will be available when the investigation complete, it added.

The helicopter was transporting forces into the area as part of Operation Red Wing, which is part of the enduring fight to defeat al-Qaida militants and deny their influence in Kunar province.

Pentagon has on Thursday said the Chinook helicopter appeared to be shot down by an unguided rocket-propelled grenade. The Taliban had claimed it shot down the aircraft.

The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. In April, 18 Americans were killed as their helicopter went down in a sandstorm southeastern Afghanistan.

But it's the first helicopter to be shot down in Afghanistan since 2001. The casualties were also the heaviest for US forces in combat in Afghanistan.

Source: Xinhua