- MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Twelve
personnel from the U.S.-led occupation forces were killed and nine wounded
when two American Black Hawk helicopters crashed in the northern Iraqi
city of Mosul on Saturday, a U.S. Army spokesman said.
-
- One of the helicopters was hit in the tail by a rocket
propelled grenade (RPG), a U.S. officer at the scene said.
-
- The helicopters came down in a residential area, although
one ambulance driver said there were no civilian casualties.
-
- Witnesses said the helicopters collided mid-air.
-
- "Initial reports say there were 12 killed coalition
personnel in action and nine wounded," said the military spokesman,
speaking in Baghdad.
-
- He had no details on nationalities of the victims. The
two Black Hawks were attached to the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division
and crashed just after dark.
-
- "I know one of the helicopters was hit by an RPG
on the tail wing," said a U.S. officer in Mosul, who declined to be
identified.
-
- Sirens wailed and U.S. soldiers kept reporters away from
the scene. A rapid reaction force secured the area and was investigating,
military officials said.
-
- Local resident Mohammad Badran said the two helicopters
collided after an explosion.
-
- "I was watching TV when I heard a large explosion,"
he said. "I looked outside the window and saw two helicopters. One
was flying low and was on fire. The other was higher up. The first one
climbed and hit the higher one. They crashed in separate areas."
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- FRONTLINE CHOPPER
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- The Black Hawk is the U.S. Army's frontline utility helicopter,
designed to carry 11 combat-ready assault troops, and is also used for
medical evacuations.
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- The U.S. military said the helicopters crashed in the
west of the city at approximately 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT).
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- Three U.S. helicopters have been shot down in Iraq in
the past three weeks for an overall loss of 22 lives.
-
- In the deadliest single strike on American troops since
the start of the war to oust Saddam Hussein, a U.S. Chinook helicopter
was shot down west of Baghdad on November 2, killing 16 soldiers.
-
- Five days later a U.S. Black Hawk was shot down near
Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, killing all six people aboard.
-
- On October 25, guerrillas brought down a Black Hawk in
Tikrit, hitting one of its engines with an RPG. The helicopter made an
emergency landing and all five crew members escaped before it was engulfed
in flames.
-
- Insurgents now mounting some 30 attacks a day have killed
160 U.S. soldiers in Iraq since President Bush declared major combat over
on May 1. U.S. forces in Baghdad have hit back with "Operation Iron
Hammer" for the past three days, using air strikes to destroy buildings
they say were used by insurgents.
-
- With reporting by Rosalind Russell and Dean Yates in
Baghdad
-
-
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