Lawmakers to grill Pentagon on deadly attack that killed 30 Americans

A US congressional panel will hold a hearing with Pentagon officials on Thursday about a mysterious helicopter crash in Afghanistan that killed 30 US forces.

The House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on National Security will be asking a number of questions about the August 6, 2011 attack that shot down a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, killing 30 Americans and 8 Afghans.

The hearing is aimed at getting answers from the Pentagon and “honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who heads the committee, told The Hill.

The helicopter shutdown, which killed 15 members of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 unit, is considered the worst loss of US Military life in a single incident in the Afghanistan war.

All 38 bodies were cremated by the order of the Department of Defense. Pentagon officials have defended the cremations to the soldiers’ families, saying the bodies were badly burned.

The Pentagon also claimed that the chopper’s black box could not be recovered because of a flash flood that occurred after the assault.

Rep. Chaffetz has said he has seen a photo of a deceased SEAL that was not burned. Chaffetz said the Pentagon will be asked about the flash flood assertion and the cremations.

The helicopter crash occurred three months after Osama bin Laden was allegedly killed in Pakistan by Seal Team 6 forces. The US announced on May 2, 2011 that bin Laden was killed by American forces in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

A number of media reports later said the US government was moving to hide files about the US military’s suspected raid on Osama bin Laden. The lack of transparency over bin Laden’s death has cast further doubt over the announcement.