© Agence France-PresseNATO-led ISAF said at a press briefing on Monday that the helicopter crash that killed 38 people, including 30 US troops last Friday represented "a tragic loss." The ISAF spokesman also played down the suggestion that the Taliban had used new types of weapons to down the helicopter.
US President Barack Obama pledged that the incident -- which killed 38 people -- would not keep foreign forces from prevailing in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon called the downing of the Chinook a "one-off" that would not alter US strategy.
The late Friday attack marked the biggest single loss of life for American and NATO forces since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban in late 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks.
The loss of the Chinook during an anti-Taliban operation southwest of Kabul dealt a blow to elite US special forces, which had 25 members on board -- 22 US Navy SEAL commandos and three Air Force Special Operations Forces.
Five US Army personnel, seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter also died.
