Military Confirms Death Of 10 Troops

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that 10 U.S. troops died in the crash of two transport helicopters off the coast of northern Djibouti, according to a statement.

"Next-of-kin notifications have been made to all family members of the deceased; however, names are being withheld in deference to family members' privacy," the U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa said in a statement.

The remains of the eight U.S. Marines and two Air Force airmen were transported to the United States on Sunday morning, task force spokeswoman Maj. Susan Romano told The Associated Press by telephone from Djibouti.

Two CH-53E choppers were carrying 12 crew and troops when they crashed in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern coastal town of Ras Siyyan. The troops were members of a U.S. counterterrorism force deployed in the Horn of Africa nation.

Two crew members were rescued Friday by Djiboutian troops who witnessed the crash. Officials refused to disclose the condition of the troops, saying next-of-kin must first be notified.

"Our deepest sympathy and heartfelt prayers go out to the family members, friends, loved ones and co-workers of our fallen brothers- and sisters-in-arms," task force commander Maj. Gen. Timothy Ghormley said. "We mourn their loss and honor their memory."

Authorities were investigating the cause of the crash, Romano said.

Visibility had been good at the time of the crash, with light winds, authorities said.

The family of Marine pilot Susan Craig said she was one of those rescued. Craig, 28, telephoned her parents, Pat and Lewis Sackett on Saturday afternoon, her mother said in an interview with a local newspaper.

Pat Sackett, who later confirmed her comments to The Associated Press, said her daughter called from Kuwait and was heading to a hospital in Germany. Craig was rescued by Djiboutian military personnel, Sackett said.

Pat Sackett said her daughter was not sure what caused the crash.

"They had an inflatable around their neck that they inflated, and they hung onto a piece of the aircraft," she said. "It was three hours before they were rescued."

The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, set up in the former French colony in June 2002, is responsible for fighting terrorism in nine countries in the region: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Somalia in Africa and Yemen on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.

The impoverished region is home to a sizable Muslim population. U.S. officials say it has been used by terrorists as a place to hide, recruit operatives and stage attacks.

The region has suffered four attacks either claimed by or attributed to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. In August 1998, car bombs destroyed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; in October 2000 suicide bombers attacked the USS Cole while it was refueling in Yemen; and in November 2002 attackers tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner minutes before a car bomb destroyed an Israeli-owned hotel on Kenya's coast.