A U.S. Army helicopter crashed Friday north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said - the fourth lost in Iraq in the last two weeks. According to the AP, the U.S. command said two crew members died.
A Pentagon official said the aircraft was an Apache attack helicopter, which carries two crew members. Iraqi police and witnesses said the crash occurred about 7:30 a.m. as two Apaches were flying near Taji. One helicopter was hit by heavy machine gunfire but continued flying, the witnesses said. The other helicopter banked sharply and flew back toward the source of fire, apparently to attack the target.
But that helicopter was also struck by ground fire, exploded and crashed, the witnesses said.
The U.S. military said six more troops died Thursday, two in fighting in Anbar province, one of an apparent heart attack and three in vehicle accidents. The deaths raise to at least 3,092 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
In Baghdad, police said they found the bullet-riddled bodies of 23 people throughout the capital. Three more bodies were found in Kut, southeast of Baghdad, and two in Mosul.
