US helicopter shot down in Iraq, two pilots killed

[gristy]

By Nabeel Norddin

MOSUL (Reuters) - Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday, killing its two pilots, witnesses and U.S. officials said.

Witnesses reported seeing gunmen armed with heavy machineguns open fire on the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, a two-seat, single-engine helicopter, in al-Sukar district north of Mosul, about 240 miles north of Baghdad.

"The indicators are that it was due to hostile fire," army Lieutenant-General John Vines, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, confirmed to reporters at the Pentagon from Baghdad.

A Reuters cameraman in al-Sukar said U.S. forces swiftly sealed off the area after the crash. The helicopter was completely destroyed and wreckage was strewn about.


http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-01-13T155149Z_01_DIT348968_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-HELICOPTER.xml&archived=False

[maddezmom]

1. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2038892