US Commandos Blew Up MH-60 Black Hawk During Air Raid That Killed ISIS Leader

The pre-dawn raid by the U.S. special forces in Northwest Syria that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi has cost the U.S. military an MH-60 black hawk special operations helicopter.

A report by The Drive said the mission, tagged successful by the U.S., involved rotorcraft, including MH-60s, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and drones. The MH-60s came from the Army's elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The choppers reportedly landed near a building and used a loudspeaker to instruct women and children to vacate the area. However, one of the MH-60s involved in the mission got damaged during the infiltration phase of the mission.

Though the MH-60 landed on the ground safely, it could not fly back, prompting the commandoes to blow it up. The Drive report said the Pentagon confirmed that the helicopter was forced to land after a technical problem. However, officials denied reports that the chopper crashed or was shot down.

A combination of demolition charges and munitions launched from an F-16 fighter jet blew up the chopper, though a few parts remained intact. The images of the MH-60 wreckage too went viral on social media.

Known as one of the most advanced helos with the U.S., the MH-60s are fitted with a sensor suite, high-tech communications gear, a refueling probe for longer missions, and forward-looking infrared radar systems, among a few other things. They also use noise-reduction systems to quiet the din produced by their rotors.

U.S. Army's 160th Night Stalkers’ Special Operations Aviation Regiment uses these long-range MH-60 and MH-47 helicopters, modified to support dangerous commando raids, for other operations as well.

The MH-60 helicopters were used during the 2019 mission, which took out ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The helo's infrared camera helped the U.S. forces to zero in on the trench Baghdadi was hiding.

This isn't the first time that U.S. troops are forced to blow up choppers. During the 2011 raid on Abbottabad, Pakistan, which saw the death of Osama bin Laden, Night Stalkers used a stealth UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter fitted with a radar-defeating shell.

These helicopters sped undetected through Pakistani air defenses before reaching the Bin Laden compound in Abbottabad. However, one of the choppers got damaged in the hard landing, forcing the commandos to blow up the helicopter.