Marine Corps Gen John Allen told a news conference that an F-16 airstrike on Monday took out fewer than 10 insurgents involved in the attack on the Chinook helicopter.
In a separate statement, the military said the strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who fired the rocket-propelled grenade at the helicopter. Intelligence gained on the ground provided a high degree of confidence that the insurgent who fired the grenade was the person killed.
Allen defended the decision to send in the Chinook loaded with special operations forces to pursue insurgents escaping from the weekend firefight with Army Rangers in a dangerous Afghan region.
Published 10 August 2011, 17:22 IST