mabby89

Jacksonville, Florida (CNN) -- President Obama said Monday that the 14 Americans killed in two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan "were doing this nation proud."

He said they "gave their lives ... to protect ours."

Ten Americans were killed in one incident, and four were killed in another, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

"Now, it is our duty, as a nation, to keep their memory alive in our hearts and to carry on their work, to take care of their families, to keep our country safe," Obama said at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville.

Three Drug Enforcement Administration personnel were among the dead, a law enforcement source said.

They were the first DEA personnel to be killed in Afghanistan.

It was the largest number of Americans killed in Afghanistan in a single day in more than four years, according to CNN records.

The NATO force ruled out enemy fire in the crash that killed four Americans and said enemy action was not thought to be the cause of the other.

A helicopter went down in the west of the country after a raid on suspected drug traffickers. Seven U.S. service members and three U.S. civilians were killed, according to an ISAF statement. Fourteen Afghan service members, 11 U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian were injured in the crash.

The helicopter was returning from a raid on a compound, ISAF had said earlier.



Video: Choppers down in Afghanistan
RELATED TOPICS
Afghanistan
NATO
International Security Assistance Force
The joint international security force killed more than a dozen enemy fighters while searching the compound, ISAF said. The site was thought to harbor insurgents tied to narcotics trafficking in western Afghanistan.

The militants were killed in a firefight when insurgents confronted the joint force.

As the force was leaving, a helicopter "went down due to unconfirmed reasons," ISAF said. A recovery operation was launched.

In Monday's other deadly crash, four U.S. service members were killed when two helicopters apparently collided in the air in southern Afghanistan. Two other NATO service members were injured.

"The incident is currently being investigated, but it is confirmed that hostile fire was not involved," ISAF said.

"Each and every death is a tremendous loss for the family and friends of each service member and civilian. Our grief is compounded when we have such a significant loss on one day," Col. Wayne Shanks, an ISAF spokesman, said in a written statement.

ISAF is not announcing the names of the dead or which branch of the service they were in, pending the notification of their relatives.

__________________
Your stupidity still amazes me.