Chinook helicopter in central Afghanistan shot down — most of them U.S. Navy SEALs (video).

The shooting down of a Chinook helicopter in central Afghanistan with the loss of 38 lives — most of them U.S. Navy SEALs — highlights two crucial aspects of the conflict in Afghanistan, as U.S. forces begin to draw down and Afghan security forces start taking the lead.

The first is the growing reliance on U.S. Special Operations Forces to combat the Taliban and other insurgent groups — in operations every night across the country.

Source: Tim Lister for CNN.