- FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) -
Guerrillas shot down a U.S. military helicopter in central Iraq Friday,
killing one pilot and injuring another, while ethnic tensions flared again
in the northern city of Kirkuk, leading to at least one death.
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- In Baghdad, hundreds of people angrily protested a raid
on a mosque during which they say the Koran was defiled.
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- The U.S. Central Command said the OH-58 Kiowa observation
helicopter was brought down by enemy fire about 32 miles west of Baghdad
near the volatile town of Falluja.
-
- A policeman who saw the crash said the helicopter was
hit by a missile.
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- "We were in a joint patrol with U.S. troops to remove
land mines and I saw a helicopter hovering in the sky which was hit by
a missile," policeman Mohammad Abdul Aziz said. "It was split
into two and went down in flames."
-
- American soldiers detained three Iraqis working for Reuters
as they covered the aftermath of the crash. A Reuters driver who was working
with the three said they were also fired on by U.S. troops as they filmed
a checkpoint close to the site.
-
- A U.S. army spokesman separately told a news conference
in Baghdad that guerrillas posing as journalists had fired on American
paratroopers guarding the crash site and four were later detained.
-
- Insurgents have shot down several U.S. helicopters in
recent months, killing a total of 39 U.S. soldiers.
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- Falluja is at the heart of the so-called Sunni triangle
north and west of Baghdad, which has seen near-constant attacks on U.S.
forces since Saddam Hussein's toppling in April.
-
- The latest death brings to 328 the number of U.S. servicemen
killed in action since the invasion of Iraq in March.
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