Tacoma soldier among 30 killed in Afghanistan helicopter attack

A 23-year-old soldier from Tacoma was among 30 soldiers killed in an attack on a helicopter in Afghanistan on Saturday.

The Tacoma News Tribune reports Specialist Alexander Bennett moved from the Tacoma area to Kansas to be a flight mechanic in the Army Reserve’s Chinook unit at New Century AirCenter.

Military officials said the troops in the crash were on a mission to assist forces pursuing a Taliban leader.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Monday that the Taliban’s downing of the Chinook with a rocket-propelled-grenade on Saturday should be seen as a single combat incident and not a watershed moment in an escalating war.

The crash underscores the risks as the U.S. begins to turn over portions of the country to Afghan forces, while concentrating more on ferreting out insurgents operating along the border.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.