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He was flying low and his men were taking greater risks, dropping the aid from a much lower height. Though I have to say that I was very concerned that some of the bottles of water and some of the boxes would split open or smash on impact when they hit the rocks below. The helicopter was in such a hurry, it had so many rounds to make, so many deliveries, it didn’t stop to see to check to see if the people got the aid they needed. Toward the end of our journey, we landed on a rare space...

Somali Islamist militants have come under attack by two foreign helicopters near Kismayo, their spokesman says. Hassan Yacqub said two patrolling al-Shabab fighters were wounded in the raid on Thursday evening in Qandal on the outskirts of the port city. He said the fighters fired back at what were either US or French helicopters. Kismayo is a stronghold of the al-Shabab Islamist group, which has links to al-Qaeda, and controls large parts of southern and central Somalia. Residents told the BBC that there was a large al-Shabab training camp in the area of Qandal, about 10km (six miles) south of...

US attack helicopters killed more than 30 Haqqani Network fighters inside Pakistan while repelling a cross-border attack. US forces struck at the Haqqani Network fighters on Friday after they attacked Combat Outpost Narizah, an Afghan base just eight miles from the Pakistani border in the district of Tani in Khost province. The Haqqani Network fighters were hit in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, which is just across the Pakistani border. "An air weapons team in the area observed the enemy fire, and following International Security Assistance Force rules of engagement, crossed into the area of enemy fire," the...

Army's Readiness Soars as Better Weather Permits UnloadingKUWAIT CITY, March 8 -- The wind died, the skies cleared and, just before dawn today, the weather-delayed USNS Dahl berthed with the last critical U.S. Army weapons needed to attack Iraq. By noon the first of 72 helicopters belonging to the 101st Airborne Division had been hoisted from the hold and moved to a dockside parking lot. Army mechanics in white hard hats swarmed over the initial Apache attack helicopter, stripping away protective plastic and reattaching rotor blades that were removed two weeks ago, before the voyage from Jacksonville, Fla. The helicopters...