BAGHDAD, Feb 8 (Reuters) - A helicopter operated by a private security firm came down in Iraq last week, U.S. officials said on Thursday, an incident that marks the sixth downing of a helicopter in three weeks.
Reports of the Jan. 31 incident, in which no one was killed, come a day after seven crew members and passengers aboard a U.S. Marine helicopter were killed when it crashed near Baghdad, possibly after being hit by ground fire.
The U.S. military, concerned that militants have changed tactics or are using more sophisticated weapons, has said it is adjusting its tactics.
One U.S. military official told Reuters he had heard reports that the private security helicopter came down under fire.
"It did not crash, it made a hard landing. They were able to get all crew and equipment out," the official said.
more:
http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08245305.htmCopter Crashes Suggest Change in Iraqi Tactics BAGHDAD, Feb. 7 — With two more helicopter crashes near Baghdad, including a Marine transport crash on Wednesday that killed seven people, the number of helicopters that have gone down in Iraq over the past three weeks rose to six. American officials say the streak strongly suggests that insurgents have adapted their tactics and are now putting more effort into shooting down the aircraft.
The number also includes a previously unreported downing of a helicopter operated by a private security firm on Jan. 31.
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The private security helicopter shot down last week was being flown in support of State Department operations and was forced down 10 miles south of the capital after insurgents attacked it with heavy-caliber ground fire as it flew from Hilla to Baghdad, American officials said Wednesday. Another American helicopter quickly swooped in to rescue the passengers and crew.
~snip~
Two American officials said the previously unreported downing of the private helicopter supporting State Department operations last week came after it was subjected to a hail of gunfire from the ground. One official described the gunfire as heavy caliber and said that after the helicopter crash-landed a second aircraft set down and evacuated the stranded passengers and crew.
more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/world/middleeast/08helicopter.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=a2630624031bfc73&hp&ex=1170997200&partner=homepage