was "the most widely operated helicopter in history." Operational history Royal Cambodian Air Force Mi-17s were used during the Cambodian government's offensives; by 1994 ten operational airframes five were converted to helicopter gunships equipped with 57 mm rocket pods and providing air support for ground forces attacking the Khmer Rouge positions. In 1996 the Government launched an offensive during the dry season at the Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng and Pailin, using five Mi-17 gunships and eight Mi-17-Mi-8 troops transports. In May 1999, during Operation Safed Sagar, the Mi-17 was used in the first air phase of the Kargil War by 129HU of the Indian Air Force against Pakistani regular. One Mi-17 was downed by a shoulder-fired missile, and a fighter aircraft was lost in combat. This led to the withdrawal of armed helicopters and attacks by fixed-wing aircraft began. The Mi-17 was used extensively by the Sri Lanka Air Force in Sri Lanka's war on terrorism by the LTTE. Seven of them were lost in combat and attacks on airports. Freelance pilot Neall Ellis operated an Mi-17 in support of the Sierra Leone government in the Sierra Leone Civil War, ferrying ammunition and other supplies to government troops. US Army Special Forces in Afghanistan extensively used CIA-operated Mi-17s during the initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Mi-17 is used for passenger transport by Air Koryo, national airline of North Korea. Previous flights include those between Pyongyang and Kaesong and Pyongyang and Haeju. The Mexican Navy uses its Mi-17s for anti-narcotic operations such as locating marijuana fields and dispatching marines to eradicate the plantations. The Slovak Air Force and Croatian Air Force operated Mi-17s in Kosovo as part of KFOR. Both the pro-Gaddafi and anti-Gaddafi forces in the 2011 Libyan civil war have operated Mi-17s. Mi-17s are operated by the Afghan Air Force. In July 2010 two Mi-17 were flown by a mixed crew of United States Air Force and Afghan Air Force personnel in a 13-hour mission that rescued 2,080 civilians from flood waters. This was the largest rescue by two helicopters in USAF history. USAF pilot Lt Col Gregory Roberts received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the mission. During the Tham Luang cave rescue in July 2018, the Thai army used the Mi-17 helicopter for searching operations, and evacuating the first batch of survivors from Tham Luang to Chiang Rai hospital; on 10 July 2018 a