An American military helicopter carrying six US soldiers crashed over the Al Anbar province of Iraq on Tuesday. Four of the craft’s crewmembers survived and are in stable condition, while the condition of two others remains unknown as they are still missing.
According to a US military statement, the helicopter, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, was on a “familiarization flight'' over Al Anbar at the time of the crash, reported Bloomberg News.
Al Anbar is one of the mot volatile provinces in Iraq, and the scene of fierce fighting between US and Iraqi resistance forces.
Officials have so far denied that the incident was the result of Iraqi fire.
"The incident does not appear to be a result of enemy action,'' a statement from US military sources at Camp Fallujah said.
However, the US military has maintained during previous incidents involving downed aircrafts that the crashes were not the result of Iraqi fire. In subsequent investigations, however, evidence has revealed that the aircrafts were in fact attacked by resistace forces.
