- BAGHDAD (AFP) - Two coalition
soldiers were killed when the US helicopter they were flying crashed into
a river in western Iraq -- apparently not because of hostile fire -- a
coaltion spokesmen told AFP.
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- The OH-58 Kiowa helicopter splashed into the water near
Haditha, 250 kilometres (150 miles) from Baghdad, at 1:50 pm (1050 GMT),
one spokesman said of the second such incident in a month.
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- "The site is secured and we can confirm two people
killed," he said Wednesday.
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- A second spokesman said the dead were coalition troops,
but he was unable to confirm their nationality nor whether other people
had been on board.
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- The Kiowa, a military observation and reconnaissance
helicopter, normally carries a crew of two.
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- "The aircraft is presently in the river on its side.
The cause of the crash is not known," the spokesman added.
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- Earlier, another spokesman, Colonel William Darley --
who had initially said the incident happened at about 9:00 am --, told
AFP the army did not think the crash had been the result of an attack.
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- In January, five US military helicopters crashed in Iraq,
most downed by enemy fire.
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- On January 25, a Kiowa Warrior also with two on board
crashed into the Tigris in the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi police said
the aircraft flew at low altitude into cables strung across the river.
-
- And in the deadliest incident on January 9, a UH-60 Blackhawk
was shot down near the insurgency hotspot of Fallujah, west of Baghdad,
killing all nine people on board.
-
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20040225/ts_afp/iraq_us_helicopter_040225145458
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