( I7 z# b3 `( y0 R1 U1 YU.S. helicopter goes down after coming under fire south of Baghdad: Iraqi army official 5 u) B% o8 D& A# H5 l+ F% l4 _9 c+ ?1 e7 s7 \, V
BAGHDAD: A U.S. helicopter went down after coming under fire Thursday in a Sunni militant stronghold south of Baghdad but there was no immediate word on casualties, an Iraqi army official said. The U.S. military said it was looking into the report. . t X" F9 \* R& Q& J# T9 F6 D- z# T $ q0 u, D2 @4 w, QGunmen opened fire on a Black Hawk helicopter at about 7:30 a.m. as it flew over Latifiyah, 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. # w$ u1 h1 J# X : {% w( n5 v7 l' mThe helicopter went down in a rural area and U.S. forces had cordoned off the site, the official said. He had no information on casualties but said the militants apparently were using anti-aircraft heavy machine gun.! z2 X# Q2 k- D% [; J
, s4 {/ R$ X2 d) H3 ILatifiyah is part of the area dubbed the Triangle of Death because of frequent insurgent attacks.$ D+ [2 H5 ]2 @- n
0 Y, d) m/ l# w+ |9 gThe last helicopter incident in Iraq occurred on March 1, when an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter made a "hard landing" in northern Iraq leaving the two crew members wounded. A week earlier, ground fire forced the downing of a Black Hawk north of Baghdad. " Z! b3 ~& @! A! D' I& g. W& U- }5 ^ s6 _ j) D
With Thursday's incident, at least nine U.S. helicopters have crashed or been brought down by hostile fire this year in Iraq.
