Taliban Commander That Shot Down U.S. Helicopter Killed By Paki Forces
Vengeance! He was the “most wanted terrorist in Kunar province.”
A senior Taliban commander who became a hero to Islamic militants for his role in shooting down a U.S. helicopter in 2005, killing all 16 special forces troops aboard, has been killed by Pakistani security forces, officials and Taliban militants tell CBS News.
Mullah Ismail, a notorious Taliban commander from the Afghan province of Kunar, was killed in a shootout with Pakistani police as he traveled with a kidnapped trader, a local police officer said Wednesday. He was apparently on his way into the lawless Northwest Frontier Province along the Afghan border.
Officer Mukarma Khan said Ismail, also known as Mullah Ahmad Shah, had kidnapped the trader from a camp for Afghan refugees in Pakistan and was trying to transport him back to the border when he failed to stop at the checkpoint. He apparently opened fire on the police and was killed in the following exchange of gunfire.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the death of the key commander and said he was a prominent Taliban figure in the area.
Abdul Jalal Jalal, chief of police in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, where Ismail was based, told CBS News that he was also aware about the militant’s death in Pakistan. He described him as the “most wanted terrorist in Kunar province.”
We interrupt this story to bring you the names of our fallen brave who have been avenged this day:
Fatalities
Eight Navy SEALs and eight members of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) known as the Night Stalkers were aboard a Chinook helicopter that was shot down by the dead jihadi puke piglet in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan on June 30, 2005, the military said. It was the deadliest single blow to American forces fighting an escalating insurgency in the country.
From the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Georgia:
Major Stephen Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Connecticut.
Chief Warrant Officer Chris Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Florida.
Warrant Officer Corey Goodnature, 35, of Clarks Grove, Minnesota.
Sergeant First Class Marcus Muralles, 33, of Shelbyville, Indiana.
Sergeant First Class Michael Russell, 31, of Stafford, Virginia.
Staff Sergeant Shamus Goare, 29, of Ohio.
Sergeant Kip Jacoby, 21, of Pompano Beach, Florida.
From the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Kentucky:
Sergeant First Class James “Tre” Ponder III , 36, of Franklin, Tennessee.
From the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One, home-stationed at the Pearl City Peninsula, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii:
Senior Chief Petty Officer Dan Healy, 36, of Exeter, New Hampshire.
Petty Officer Second Class Shane Patton, 30, of Boulder City, Nevada.
Petty Officer Second Class James Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, Florida.
From the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Ten, Virginia Beach, Virginia:
Lieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen, 33, of San Diego, California.
Lieutenant Michael McGreevy, 30, of Portville, New York.
Chief Petty Officer Jacques Fontan, 36, of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Petty Officer First Class Jeff Taylor, 30, of Beckley, West Virginia.
Petty Officer Jeffrey Alan Lucas, of Corbett, Oregon.
Now back to the good news…
A Taliban sub-commander in Kunar province told CBS News Ismail’s death “is a full-scale blow.” He said Ismail is responsible for the shooting down of the Chinook in 2005.
Ismail was also said to be a key facilitator of al Qaeda militants in the region - many of whom come from outside southeast Asia and do not speak the local languages. According to Taliban sources, Osama bin Laden personally honored Ismail’s authority in the area after the Chinook attack in a letter sent through an intermediary.
Police chief Jalal said Ismail and the militants under his command were behind many attacks on NATO, U.S. and Afghan forces in the northeastern part of Afghanistan.
Ismail became a hero for al Qaeda and the Taliban after his group hit a U.S. Navy MH-47 Chinook helicopter in late June 2005, apparently with a shoulder-fired rocket. The helicopter was one of four aircraft ferrying special forces into the area on a reconnaissance mission.
It was considered a lucky shot from an inaccurate weapon; but it left eight Navy SEALs and eight Army air crew from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment dead. Read report from June 30, 2005.
It was the deadliest single attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the invasion to topple the Taliban in 2001.
The Chinook was shot down as it ferried troops into the region to search for four Navy SEALs who had gone missing in the area in late June. Three of the men were found dead, but one, who was wounded, managed to escape - read report from July 3, 2005 - to a local home, where he was hidden from the Taliban and eventually rescued by U.S. forces.
On Wednesday, Afghan shepherd Gulab Khan, who says he’s the one who saved the life of the only surviving SEAL, told CBS News that Mullah Ismail attacked his village the day after the helicopter was shot down, searching for any survivors.
Khan said he protected the SEAL, but his actions brought death threats from Ismail and his militants, which prompted the shepherd to relocate his entire family to the provincial capital. He described Ismail as the most powerful militant in Kunar province.
(CBS)
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