Two helicopters crash in Iraq

2008-10-04 22:36

Baghdad - Two US Black Hawk helicopters crashed while attempting to land at an American combat outpost in northern Baghdad on Saturday, the US military said.

One Iraqi soldier was killed and two American and two Iraqi soldiers were injured, military spokesperson Lieutenant Patrick Evans said in an e-mail to Reuters.

"Two UH-60 Black Hawks have crashed while landing at Combat Outpost Ford in (the northern Baghdad district of) Adhamiya about 20:55 Baghdad time (1755 GMT) this evening," he said.

"The situation is under control. Emergency services are on the scene. It is unknown how many were on board at the time of the incident. Enemy fire is not suspected at this time."

A Reuters television cameraperson in the Sha'ab district of northern Baghdad, near Adhamiya, said he saw two helicopters circling overhead. The engine of one of them made a thudding sound as it lost altitude and crashed.

The cameraperson said he heard an explosion after the impact, followed by the sound of shooting.

Iraqi police confirmed the crash. They gave no further details, but said clashes had broken out between Iraqi security forces and gunmen near the crash site.

The incident was the second major US military helicopter crash in Iraq in weeks. Last month, seven US soldiers were killed when a transport helicopter crashed in southern Iraq in an incident the military blamed on mechanical failure.

The US military says violence in Iraq is at it its lowest since 2004.

- Reuters