Military investigates report of copter down

[thedrifter]

Military investigates report of copter down

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 7, 2007 6:06:30 EST

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military said it was investigating reports that an aircraft went down Wednesday in Iraq.

Witnesses said a helicopter had gone down in a field in the Sheik Amir area northwest of Baghdad, sending smoke rising from the scene, in a Sunni-dominated area between the Taji Air Base, 12 miles north of Baghdad, and Garma, 20 miles west of the capital.

“We are looking into initial reports of a possible aircraft down,” U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle said.

The reports came five days after an Army helicopter crashed in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said — the fourth helicopter lost in Iraq in a two-week span. The U.S. command said two crew members were killed in that crash.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

U.S. military investigates fifth helicopter downed in Iraq
Updated 2/7/2007 8:44 AM ET

BAGHDAD (AP) — A Sea Knight helicopter went down northwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, the military said, the fifth helicopter lost in Iraq in just over two weeks.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the CH-46 helicopter went down about 20 miles northwest of the capital, but he declined to comment on casualties.

"A quick reaction force is on site and the investigation is going on as we speak," he told reporters in Baghdad, without giving a cause for the crash. "It would probably be inappropriate for me to talk about whether or not there are or are not casualties."

Caldwell also said the long-awaited Baghdad security operation "is ongoing as we speak," a day after the Iraqi prime minister acknowledged that the plan to pacify the violence-ridden capital had been slow to start and had allowed insurgents time to step up attacks that have killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks.

The Iraqi general who is leading the security drive, Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, took over the operation headquarters on Monday, but there had been no announcement until Wednesday that the sweep, the third attempt to crush violence in nine months, had begun.

"The implementation of the prime minister's plan has already begun and will be fully implemented at a later date, having all the parts and pieces that he wants," Caldwell said. "But portions are already being put in place, and we'll continue to put more into place as the forces arrive and the assets become available."

U.S. President George W. Bush is increasing the number of American troops in Iraq by 21,500, including 17,500 for Baghdad, as part of the efforts. But the spate of helicopter crashes underscores the dangers facing U.S. troops as they step up their presence in the Baghdad area.

Witnesses said the helicopter had been shot down in a field in the Sheik Amir area northwest of Baghdad, sending smoke rising from the scene, in a Sunni-dominated area between the Taji air base 12 miles north of Baghdad and Karmah, 50 miles to the west of the capital.

"The helicopter was flying and passed over us, then we heard the firing of a missile," said Mohammad al-Janabi, a farmer who was speaking less than a kilometer (half a mile) from the wreckage. "The helicopter, then, turned into a ball of fire. It flew in a circle twice, then it went down."

The helicopter went down five days after a U.S. Army helicopter crashed in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said. The U.S. command said two crewmembers were killed in that crash, and the al-Qaeda-affiliated group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility.

Three other helicopters also have gone down since Jan. 20 killing a total of 19 Americans — 14 troops and five civilian security contractors.

The CH-46 is used by the Marines primarily as a cargo and troop transport, and can carry 25 combat-loaded troops, according to the think tank GlobalSecurity.org.

More American troops were killed in combat in Iraq over the past four months — at least 334 through Jan. 31 — than in any comparable stretch since the war began, according to an Associated Press analysis of casualty records, as U.S. soldiers and Marines find themselves fighting more battles in the streets of Baghdad, as well as other cities.

The Iraqi government also has faced increased pressure over delays in starting the operation as hundreds of Iraqis have been killed in a spate of bombings and other violence in recent weeks.

At least 15 people were killed in attacks nationwide on Wednesday, including two employees of the government-funded Iraqi Media Network in Baghdad and a female government official who was shot to death while she was riding to work with her husband in the northern city of Mosul.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki acknowledged Tuesday that the long-awaited Baghdad security operation was off to a slow start, but he also reassured Iraqis that security forces will live up to their responsibilities, telling his commanders they must not disappoint those "who stand beside us."

The statement came as new checkpoints were erected and increased vehicle inspections and foot patrols were reported in some neighborhoods — providing the main evidence so far that U.S. and Iraqi forces were gearing up for a major neighborhood-to-neighborhood sweep to quell sectarian violence in the city of 6 million.

"The operations will unite us and we will take action soon, God willing, even though I believe we've been very late and this delay has started to give a negative message," al-Maliki said in a meeting with military commanders shown on state TV. "I hope that more efforts will be exerted and more speed exerted in carrying out and achieving all the preparations to start the operations."

"I say again, we have talked much about the operations, and while the Iraqis are waiting and waiting, the terrorists in turn have raised the level of the bombing operations and started killing people in mass numbers," he added. "Our slogan should be 'rest is prohibited, especially for military men, and day and night should merge in working to achieve victory."'

"We should carry out the operation in good time and should not delay, because the delay will be used against us by the enemies ... and those who are afraid of them," he said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday the increase in U.S. forces in Iraq is "not the last chance" to succeed and conceded he was considering what steps to take if the buildup fails.

"I would be irresponsible if I weren't thinking about what the alternatives might be," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Gates said the operation was to have started Monday. "It's probably going to slip a few days, and it's probably going to be a rolling implementation," he said.

"As far as the security issue is concerned, we should be determined and committed. We should carry out the operation on time and should not delay because the delay will be used against us by our enemies," he added.


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Sea Knight goes down northwest of Baghdad

5th aircraft lost in just over two weeks
By Kim Gamel - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 7, 2007 9:38:07 EST

BAGHDAD — A Sea Knight helicopter went down northwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, the military said, the fifth helicopter lost in Iraq in just over two weeks.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the CH-46 helicopter went down about 20 miles northwest of the capital, but he declined to comment on casualties.

“A quick-reaction force is on site and the investigation is going on as we speak,” he told reporters in Baghdad, without giving a cause for the crash. “It would probably be inappropriate for me to talk about whether or not there are or are not casualties.”

Witnesses said the helicopter had been shot down in a field in the Sheik Amir area northwest of Baghdad, sending smoke rising from the scene, in a Sunni-dominated area between the Taji Air Base and Karmah.

“The helicopter was flying and passed over us, then we heard the firing of a missile,” said Mohammad al-Janabi, a farmer who was speaking less half a mile from the wreckage. “The helicopter, then, turned into a ball of fire. It flew in a circle twice, then it went down.”

Caldwell said the long-awaited Baghdad security operation “is ongoing as we speak,” a day after the Iraqi prime minister acknowledged that the plan to pacify the violence-ridden capital had been slow to start and had allowed insurgents time to step up attacks that have killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks.

The Iraqi general who is leading the security drive, Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, took over the operation headquarters Monday, but there had been no announcement until Wednesday that the sweep, the third attempt to crush violence in nine months, had begun.

“The implementation of the prime minister’s plan has already begun and will be fully implemented at a later date, having all the parts and pieces that he wants,” Caldwell said. “But portions are already being put in place, and we’ll continue to put more into place as the forces arrive and the assets become available.”

The helicopter went down five days after an Army helicopter crashed in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said. The U.S. command said two crew members were killed in that crash, and the al-Qaida-affiliated group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility.

Three other helicopters also have gone down since Jan. 20 killing a total of 19 Americans — 14 troops and five civilian security contractors.

The CH-46 is used by the Marines primarily as a cargo and troop transport, and can carry 25 combat-loaded troops.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

7 aboard Sea Knight believed killed

Crash not caused by hostile fire, defense official says
By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 7, 2007 11:48:34 EST

The U.S. military believes all seven people aboard a CH-46 helicopter that crashed in Iraq on Wednesday were killed, and indications are that it was not hit by hostile fire, a senior U.S. defense official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still underway, said the helicopter went down between Baghdad and Fallujah and that the crash appeared to have been related to mechanical problems.

In Baghdad, an Iraqi air force officer said it was downed by an anti-aircraft missile.

The CH-46 was operated by Marines, and other Marine aircraft were in visual contact at the time it went down, the U.S. official said. He said he did not know whether a distress signal was communicated by radio.

Meanwhile, an Al-Qaida-linked Sunni insurgents claimed responsibility for the downing Wednesday.

The claim was issued in an Internet statement signed by the Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella group of several Sunni insurgent groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq. The authenticity of the statement — posted on a Web forum where the group often issues statements — could not be independently confirmed.

Witnesses said the helicopter had been shot down in a field in the Sheik Amir area northwest of Baghdad, sending smoke rising from the scene, in a Sunni-dominated area between the Taji Air Base and Karmah.

“The helicopter was flying and passed over us, then we heard the firing of a missile,” said Mohammad al-Janabi, a farmer who was speaking less half a mile from the wreckage. “The helicopter, then, turned into a ball of fire. It flew in a circle twice, then it went down.”

The CH-46 Sea Knight, the fifth U.S. helicopter lost in Iraq in just over two weeks, went down about 20 miles northwest of the capital.

“A quick-reaction force is on site and the investigation is going on as we speak,” U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters in Baghdad.

The helicopter went down five days after an Army helicopter crashed in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said. The U.S. command said two crew members were killed in that crash, and the al-Qaida-affiliated group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility.

Three other helicopters also have gone down since Jan. 20 killing a total of 19 Americans — 14 troops and five civilian security contractors.

The CH-46 is used by the Marines primarily as a cargo and troop transport, and can carry 25 combat-loaded troops.

Kim Gamel contributed to this story.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

All 7 aboard Sea Knight killed in Iraq crash

Crash not caused by hostile fire, defense official says
By Robert H. Reid - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 7, 2007 17:13:37 EST

BAGHDAD — A Marine transport helicopter crashed in flames Wednesday in a field northwest of Baghdad, killing all seven people aboard, the U.S. military said. It is the fifth U.S. aircraft lost in three weeks and the latest sign of growing problems with aviation in Iraq.

A military statement gave no reason for the crash of the CH-46 Sea Knight, which went down near Fallujah in Anbar province. A senior defense official said it appeared the helicopter suffered mechanical problems and was not hit by hostile fire.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is incomplete.

But an Iraqi air force officer, however, said the helicopter was down by an anti-aircraft missile, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

An Iraqi farmer who lives less than a half miles from the crash site said he heard a missile fired moments before the crash, which occurred in an insurgent-infested region of Anbar province.

“The helicopter was flying and passed over us, then we heard the firing of a missile,” the farmer, Mohammed al-Janabi, said. “The helicopter then turned into a ball of fire. It flew in a circle twice and then went down.”

Associated Press Television video showed the flaming wreckage lying in a field in front of a cluster of mud homes. A dense plume of black smoke rose over the remains.

In a statement posted on an extremist Web site, an al-Qaida-linked group, the Islamic State in Iraq, claimed it shot down the helicopter, which it described as a Chinook — an Army helicopter which resembles a Sea Knight.

The latest crash occurred five days after an Army Apache helicopter went down in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad. Three other helicopters — two from the Army and one operated by an American security firm — also have crashed since Jan. 20.

The military has said those four were all believed to have been shot down, raising new questions about whether Iraqi extremists are using more sophisticated weapons or whether U.S. tactics need changing.

Any new threat to aviation would present serious problems for U.S. commanders as they launch the new security crackdown in Baghdad.

The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters in Iraq, not only for supporting ground forces in combat but also to move troops and equipment by air to avoid roadside bombs and insurgent ambushes.

At night, U.S. attack helicopters prowl the darkened skies over Baghdad and other cities, using night-vision equipment to hunt for insurgents and militiamen planting roadside bombs or setting up firing positions.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has acknowledged that insurgent ground fire in Iraq has been increasingly effective.

“I do not know whether or not it is the law of averages that caught up with us or if there’s been a change in tactics, techniques and procedures on the part of the enemy,” Pace told a Senate committee Tuesday.

In December, a spokesman for Saddam Hussein’s ousted Baath party, Khudair al-Murshidi, told The Associated Press in Damascus, Syria, that Sunni insurgents had received new stocks of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and “we are going to surprise them.”

However, Pace said Tuesday that the four helicopters that crashed since Jan. 20 were brought down by small arms fire rather than missiles.

On Wednesday, the Stars and Stripes newspaper quoted a U.S. officer as saying insurgents brought down an Apache helicopter last week near Taji by concentrating heavy automatic fire on the aircraft — rather than by using a shoulder-fired missile.

Helicopter transmission gears and rear rotor assemblies are vulnerable to ground fire and cannot be protected by armor plating because of the weight.

Sea Knight helicopters are used by the Marines primarily as a cargo and troop transport, and can carry 25 combat-loaded troops, according to the think tank GlobalSecurity.org.

The Sea Knight, with its distinctive dual rotors, has been in service since 1964 and was widely used in the Vietnam war.

Ellie