Two American troops died in Iraq when their helicopter crashed after coming under small arms fire near the city of Baqubah, Reuters reported Friday, quoting the US military as the source. According to the report, two helicopters came under small arms fire near Baquba, some 60 km north of Baghdad, on Thursday night. One crashed while the other sustained damage but landed safely at a U.S. base.
A Pentagon official confirmed the aircraft that went down was an OH-58 Kiowa, a single-engine two-seater helicopter.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government announced on Thursday it would deploy 40,000 Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad in a massive crackdown on armed groups. "We will divide Baghdad into seven main areas in Rasafa (eastern Baghdad), and 15 main areas in Karkh (western Baghdad), and the forces that will take part in the operation will be more than 40,000 security members," Defense Minister Sadoun al-Dulaimi told the joint press conference.
