thedrifter
08-09-06, 07:29 AM
Hunt for missing troops after US helicopter comes down in Iraq
A HELICOPTER carrying US soldiers has crashed in Iraq leaving two Marines missing.
The men were flying over the Anbar province, west of Baghdad, when it went down yesterday.
Six Marines were on board at the time - four are accounted for.
Military officials said the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was undertaking an "area familiarisation" flight when the crash took place.
In a statement they said the incident does not appear to be the result of enemy action.
It said the aircraft was located and search and rescue efforts are going on to try and find the two missing crew members.
The remaining four are in stable condition, it said.
It is the latest US helicopter to go down in Iraq, but the vast majority are the result of enemy fire.
In January, a helicopter crash in Mosul, north of Baghdad, caused by hostile fire left both pilots dead.
At the time it was the second of such incidents in Iraq in less than a week.
US military commander General John Vines said the helicopter was on a combat air patrol when it was shot to the ground.
Just days earlier a helicopter crashed near the town of Talafar, in north-western Iraq, killing all 12 people on board.
Ellie
A HELICOPTER carrying US soldiers has crashed in Iraq leaving two Marines missing.
The men were flying over the Anbar province, west of Baghdad, when it went down yesterday.
Six Marines were on board at the time - four are accounted for.
Military officials said the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was undertaking an "area familiarisation" flight when the crash took place.
In a statement they said the incident does not appear to be the result of enemy action.
It said the aircraft was located and search and rescue efforts are going on to try and find the two missing crew members.
The remaining four are in stable condition, it said.
It is the latest US helicopter to go down in Iraq, but the vast majority are the result of enemy fire.
In January, a helicopter crash in Mosul, north of Baghdad, caused by hostile fire left both pilots dead.
At the time it was the second of such incidents in Iraq in less than a week.
US military commander General John Vines said the helicopter was on a combat air patrol when it was shot to the ground.
Just days earlier a helicopter crashed near the town of Talafar, in north-western Iraq, killing all 12 people on board.
Ellie