Over 20 U.S. Navy SEALs that killed Osama bin Laden in early May were onboard the NATO helicopter, crashed on Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, Fox News reported.
The Chinook helicopter went down overnight in Afghan eastern Wardak Province as it was shot down from the ground. 38 people were reported to had been killed.
Among those killed in the crash were over 20 Navy SEALs (Sea, Air and Land Teams) from the so-called Team Six that eliminated bin Laden in his Pakistani compound on May 2, Fox News quoted a Pentagon source as saying.
The source said that apart from the SEALs, there were three Air Force air controllers, seven Afghan Army troops, a dog, his owner, a civilian interpreter as well as the helicopter crew members on board.
The U.S. President Barack Obama and the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta has expressed their condolences to the relatives of those killed in the crash.
Taliban has claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter.
Last month, a coalition helicopter was shot down by insurgent fire in nearby province of Kunar.
