31 American Special Forces killed when helicopter shot down

POLITICS - On Saturday Afghan warlords shot down a US military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as seven Afghan commandos. It was the deadliest single day loss for American forces in the decade-old war.

The much lauded, tight-knit SEAL Team 6 took the hit hard. It was also a heavy setback for the U.S.-led coalition as it begins to withdraw thousands of combat troops fighting what has become an increasingly costly and unpopular war.

None of the 22 SEAL personnel killed in the crash were part of the team that killed Osama bin Laden in a May raid in Pakistan, but they belonged to the same SEAL unit.

Special operations forces, including the SEALs and others, have been at the forefront in the recent strategy of killing key insurgent leaders in targeted raids. The operation has been jokingly called "Hydra" because every time one leader's head is chopped off, another grows back. (In Greek myth the 5-headed Hydra would regrow its heads when they were chopped off.)

[Hydra is also a fictional terrorist organization in the comicbook Marvel Universe.]