No media coverage of return of slain troops: US

Washington: The media coverage of an event to mark the return of the bodies of 30 elite US troops killed in Afghanistan after their chopper was shot down by Taliban has been denied by the Pentagon, saying that there were "no identifiable remains" of these soldiers. Given the nature of the attack, there were "no identifiable remains" of the 30 troops, including 22 Navy SEALs, Pentagon spokesman Marine Col David Lapan told reporters.

Therefore, he said, the media would not be allowed to cover the event to mark the return of the remains of these servicemen in flag-draped coffins to the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, possibly on Tuesday.

The International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said the CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down on Saturday by an insurgent rocket-propelled grenade while transporting the US service members and Afghan commandos to the scene of an engagement between ISAF and insurgent forces.

As a result of the attack, the helicopter exploded in midair, killing everyone on board - 30 US soldiers, seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter.

"Due to the catastrophic nature of the crash, the remains of our fallen service members will be returned to the US via Dover AFB in unidentified status, until they can be positively identified by the Armed Forces Mortuary Affairs Office at Dover," another Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt Jane Campbell, said in a statement.

"Because the remains are unidentified at this point, next-of-kin are not in a position to grant approval for media access to the dignified transfer," he said.

Therefore, in accordance with the policy of the Department of Defence, no media coverage of the arrival and dignified transfer is permitted, Campbell said.

"Families will however, be given the opportunity to be present for the arrival," he said.

Coverage of arrival of soldiers killed in battlefield was banned for the media during the previous Bush Administration. The Obama administration permitted media coverage of the return ceremony for service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, subject to the approval by the next-of-kin. But this time the Department of Defence ruled against the media coverage.

Pentagon Press Association President Nancy Youssef said the organisation has protested against the decision to ban media coverage and demanded that the decision be reversed.