WORLD / Middle East
US military says copter down in Iraq
(AP)
Updated: 2007-02-07 20:57
BAGHDAD, Iraq - 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. Meanwhile, a US military spokesman said the Baghdad
security operation is in progress.
US Army Black Hawk helicopter flies over Baghdad's heavily fortified
Green Zone, Iraq, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. The US military said it was
investigating reports that an aircraft went down Wednesday and the
reports came five days after a US Army helicopter crashed in a hail of
gunfire north of Baghdad, - the fourth helicopter lost in Iraq in a
two-week span. [AP]
The CH-46 helicopter went down about 20 miles northwest of the capital,
US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said, but he declined to
comment on casualties.
"A quick reaction force is on site and the investigation is going on as
we speak," he said. "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, 12 miles north of
Baghdad, and Garma, 20 miles west of the capital. and Garma, 20 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 half-mile from the wreckage. "The helicopter, then, turned into a
ball of fire. It flew in a circle twice, then it went down."
The reports came five days after a US Army helicopter crashed in a hail
of gunfire north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said. The US 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 spate of helicopter crashes underscores the dangers facing US troops
as they step up their presence in the Baghdad area in preparation for a
long-awaited security sweep to quell the spiraling sectarian violence.
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 US 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 and warned that
insurgents were taking advantage of the delay to kill as many people as
possible. But he also reassured Iraqis that security forces will live up
to their responsibilities.
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 US 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."
Al-Maliki urged his commanders to step up efforts to complete the
preparations for the security plan, saying the delays had allowed
insurgents to step up attacks that have killed hundreds in recent weeks.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the increase in US 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.
Al-Maliki, who has seen sectarian violence rise since taking office on
May 20, 2006, despite two previous efforts to secure the capital,
declared that Iraqi forces will live up to their responsibilities and
told his commanders they must not disappoint those "who stand beside us."
"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.
Al-Maliki also accused other countries in the region of supporting
militants to destabilize Iraq and prevent democracy from spreading - an
apparent reference to US rivals Iran and Syria.
"We have many times talked about this interference and said that we will
not sit endlessly silent about those who interfere in our affairs and
support terrorism," he said.
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