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Two U.S. military personnel suffered minor injuries after their HH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Afghanistan on the morning of August 1, Operation Resolute Support said in a statement.

The helo suffered a mechanical issue during operations near Achin in the countrys eastern province of Nangarhar, making what U.S. Central Command officials characterized as a hard landing. Rescue personnel managed to safely evacuate the crew, and ORS is in the process of recovering the downed copter.

The Nangarhar province has become a stronghold for Afghan ISIS offshoot ISIS-Khorasan, and a target for increased U.S. special operations forces activity since the Department of Defense dropped a 21,600 pound GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (or mother of all bombs) on an ISIS-K position in April.

The Taliban initially attempted to claim responsibility for the crash, asserting in a statement that militants opened fire on the helicopter during its landing around 2 a.m., killing everyone aboard and foiling an attempted raid, according to Stars and Stripes. That claim appears to be hot garbage.

The incident, though relatively minor, underscores a growing problem: Poor upkeep and maintenance of the NATO coalitions fleet of Black Hawk attack helicopters will likely result in more mechanical failures not just in Afghanistan, but on battlefields across the Middle East and North Africa where U.S.-led forces focus on beating back the rising tide of Islamic militants.

A Pentagon inspector general audit of HH-60 airframe and training evaluations found that Army Aviation and Missile Command officials did not effectively manage airframe condition evaluations for the Black Hawk fleet, neglecting to require regular evaluations (AMCOM didnt conduct a single airframe assessment for a whole year between March 2016 and March 2017) or enforce standards for unit commanders responsible for grounding potentially faulty aircraft.

Evaluators identified safety problems with some H-60 helicopters that required the unit commander to ground (restrict flying) those helicopters, according to the audit. But the unit commander did not always allow evaluators to finish theevaluation of additional helicopters because he did not want to ground more helicopters if additional safety problems were identified. As a result, Army pilots and crew could be flying H-60 helicopters with unidentified structural defects.

Of course, this assessment primarily applies to the Army; the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard all use modified H-60 Black Hawks for various operations. But given the essential nature of the attack copter to counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan and beyond as well as the cultural symbolism of a downed Black Hawk, thanks to the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu and journalist Mark Bowdens account of the campaign in Black Hawk Down the Army may want to take a harder look at ensuring that mechanical failures like the one that occurred over Achin dont happen again.CENTCOM and ORS did not immediately respond to request for comment from Task & Purpose. We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

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2 US Soldiers Injured In Black Hawk Crash In Afghanistan - Task & Purpose

McCain issued a statement saying he would offer an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in September that would provide a strategy for Afghanistan, the 16-year war that has been a divisive issue within the White House.

"More than six months after President Trump's inauguration, there still is no strategy for success in Afghanistan," the Arizona Republican said. "Eight years of a 'don't lose' strategy has cost us lives and treasure in Afghanistan. Our troops deserve better. When the Senate takes up the National Defense Authorization Act in September, I will offer an amendment based on the advice of some our best military leaders that will provide a strategy for success in achieving America's national interests in Afghanistan."

McCain, who started his treatment for brain cancer on Monday, has long harped on Trump and top national security administration officials to provide Congress with a strategy for Afghanistan, where for years he slammed the Obama administration's timelines for withdrawing US troops from the conflict.

At the June confirmation hearing for Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, McCain fired a warning shot about his unhappiness with the administration on Afghanistan and his intention of providing the administration with a strategy if it couldn't come up with one.

"I want to work with this administration, I want to work with this President, work with new secretary of defense, who I happen to be one of the most ardent admirers of," McCain said. "But I have to tell you in a couple of weeks were going to mark up the defense authorization bill. The President has two choices: Give us a strategy, or we will put a strategy that we develop into the defense authorization bill."

McCain had hoped to take up the defense authorization bill, which sets Pentagon policy and authorizes spending, last week. But after his dramatic return and vote against the Republican Obamacare repeal plan, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, objected to speedy consideration of the bill, and it had to be put off until September for McCain to take part in debate.

While McCain is starting cancer treatment that includes radiation and chemotherapy, he said in a statement Friday he plans to maintain a work schedule and then return to Washington after the August recess.

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McCain threatens to give his own Afghanistan strategy to Trump - CNN

Two U.S. soldiers were injured after their Black hawk helicopter made a hard landing early Tuesday.

The crew members suffered minor injuries when their copter crash landed in the Achin District in eastern Afghanistan as a result of a mechanical issue, according to a statement released by NATO.

A U.S. HH-60 Black Hawk suffered a mechanical issue that resulted in a hard landing during operations near Achin, Nangarhar early this morning, The NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan said in a statement. Rescue personnel safely recovered the crew. Two crew members suffered minor injuries in the landing and are receiving treatment at a coalition medical facility.

The aircraft is being recovered and the incident is under investigation.

The Taliban in a statement claimed they opened fire on the helicopter, killing everyone on board. The insurgents routinely exaggerate their gains and casualties they inflict in battle.

The Achin District is the home to hundreds of militants from ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, the Islamic States Afghanistan affiliate. They are the same extremist group that claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul on Monday.

The region is where American troops are supporting Afghan security forces in a campaign against the ISIS affiliate.

This past April, two U.S. Army Rangers were killed kight ISIS in Achin, just weeks after the U.S. Military dropped the Mother of all Bombs, or MOAB on an ISIS cave complex.

Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews

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Black Hawk Down: NATO helicopter has hard landing in Afghanistan; 2 injured - Fox News

By: Express Web Desk | Updated: August 1, 2017 3:38 pm Live cricket score, India A vs Afghanistan: India A are batting first in Pretoria. (Source: Screenshot)

India A started their tri-series in South Africa with a loss against South Africa A by two wickets. But they came to win the next one against Afghanistan A replacement for Australia A who abandoned the tour due to the on-going pay dispute. With that, India A sit second in the points table behind South Africa A who have won both their games. The third match for India A, captained by Manish Pandey, gives the visiting team a chance at building pressure at the top of the table. The teams who will finish as the top-two will go on to play the final at Proteria next week. Catch live scores and updates here.

India A vs Afghanistan A, Live Scores and Updates from Pretoria: Manish Pandey-captained India A are looking for their second win on the trot.

TEAMS:

India A:Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Axar Patel, Basil Thampi, Mohammed Siraj, Siddarth Kaul

Afghanistan A:Javed Ahmadi, Shafiqullah Shafiq (c & wk), Rahmat Shah, Nasir Jamal, Ihsanullah Janat, Najibullah Zadran, Younas Ahmadzai, Fareed Ahmad, Nawaz Khan, Mohammad Ibrahim, Sharafuddin Ashraf

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India A vs Afghanistan A, Live Cricket Score: India A steadied by captain Manish Pandey against Afghanistan A - The Indian Express

Security forces respond at the site of an attack on the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility. Massoud Hossaini/AP hide caption

Security forces respond at the site of an attack on the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

Attackers in the Afghan capital attempted to storm the Iraqi Embassy on Monday, setting off a bomb before gunmen rushed the compound's gate. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

NPR's Diaa Hadid, reporting from Islamabad, says the attack is likely in retaliation for Iraqi security forces routing ISIS fighters from their stronghold in Mosul, Iraq.

"The group is trying to assert itself through violent attacks to show its followers that it still has power, despite losing important battles in Iraq and Syria," she says.

Conflicting reports said the number of attackers was either three or four. Some reports said the initial blast was from a car bomb, others said one of the attackers, apparently wearing a suicide vest, detonated it, to begin the assault. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish put the number of attackers at three.

Witnesses reported several explosions following the initial blast and black smoke rising from the embassy building. The gun battle reportedly lasted four hours.

"Our forces are inside and a clearance operation is underway," Danish told The Associated Press, adding that embassy personnel were safe, although embassy guards and nearby civilians might have suffered casualties.

The Foreign Ministry in Baghdad says Iraq's charge d'affaires in Afghanistan was rescued from the gunbattle and taken to the Egyptian Embassy. Two other Iraqi staffers were reportedly being evacuated from the building, according to Reuters.

The AP quotes one witness, a store owner who goes by the name of Hafizullah, as saying that he saw the bodies of two policemen on the ground before armored personnel carriers and police arrived to cordon off the area.

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ISIS Claims Responsibility For Attack On Iraqi Embassy In Afghanistan - NPR