|
Bad Guys shoot down helicopter in Chechnya, 74 dead...
A Russian military helicopter loaded with troops crashed in Chechnya on Monday, killing at least 74 people. The Mi-26 helicopter went down near the Russian military headquarters at Khankala, near the Chechen capital Grozny. Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported that at least 80 soldiers were killed. Interfax later adjusted its toll to 74, saying 106 servicemen were aboard the helicopter and 32 survived. Cheeze...! The head of the Defense Ministry press office, Nikolai Deryabin, told ORT state television that the pilot had requested permission to perform an emergency landing because an engine was on fire. He said 13 or 14 servicemen were hospitalized. The military headquarters later said that fire and smoke from the crash hampered efforts to determine the full number of casualties. Interfax said the helicopter was shot down by rebels. The Russers had better come up with better commanders in Chechnya than they have. I hope they still have a few Lebeds left. They were still running a draftee army, last time I looked, and draftees are historically a poor way to deal with guerrillas. They're trying to use MVD troops and regular line troops, when they should be using SpetsNaz and airborne troops â which are (used to be) the cream of their crop. If they don't wipe out the nasties in Chechnya root and branch it's going to be a trouble spot for the next fifty or a hundred years. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-08-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=6421 |