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5 U.S. Military Particular Operations forces have died in a helicopter crash within the jap Mediterranean Sea, American officers stated on Sunday.
The troops have been crew members of an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that was on a refueling coaching mission late Friday when the plane crashed off the coast of Cyprus, three U.S. officers stated, talking on the situation of anonymity to debate operational particulars. The crash is below investigation, they stated.
The Pentagon has quietly dispatched to Cyprus commando groups from the Joint Particular Operations Command, together with the Military’s Delta Power and the Navy’s SEAL Crew 6, to face by in case they’re wanted to assist evacuate Americans from the area.
The commandos are additionally skilled in hostage rescue operations. A few dozen or so American hostages have been seized when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, however Biden administration officers have indicated they don’t have any plans to place American boots on the bottom within the densely populated Gaza Strip, the place the Israel army is now conducting main floor operations.
The helicopter crew members who died have been members of the Military’s elite a hundred and sixtieth Particular Operations Aviation Regiment, often called the Evening Stalkers, and are among the many aviators assigned to ferry the commandos on clandestine missions.
An American plane provider, the Gerald R. Ford, can also be working within the jap Mediterranean off the coast of Israel, in what the Biden administration has stated is a deterrent to Iran and its proxies within the area to widen the Gaza warfare.
In a press release on Sunday, the army’s European Command acknowledged the deaths of the 5 service members in what it stated was “a routine air refueling mission,” however launched no different details about the crash, the crew or its unit in a mirrored image of the secrecy surrounding the unit’s mission.
Protection Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III stated in a press release on Sunday, “We mourn the tragic lack of 5 U.S. service members throughout a coaching accident within the Mediterranean Sea.”
President Biden, noting that it was Veterans Day weekend, stated: “Our service members put their lives on the road for our nation every single day. They willingly take dangers to maintain the American folks protected and safe.”
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