|
|
|
Bloodiest
day
for
US
forces
in
Iraq
A
US
Marine
Corps
helicopter
has
crashed
in
western
"Early
this
morning,
30
Marines
and
one
sailor
of
the
1st
Marine
Division
and
the
3rd
Marine
Aircraft
Wing
of
the
1st
Marine
Expeditionary
Force
died
when
their
CH-53E
'Super
Stallion'
helicopter
crashed
near
Ar
Rutbah
[in]
Al
Anbar
Province
here
in The
US
military had
earlier
issued
a
statement
saying
"a
US
Marine
Corps
transport
helicopter
crashed
on
26
January
at
approximately
1.20am
(2220
GMT
Tuesday)
near
al-Rutbah
while
conducting
security
and
stabilisation
operations". Earlier
in
the
day,
speaking
to
Aljazeera
from
Ramadi,
Muhammad
Abd
al-Rahman,
an
independent
Iraqi
journalist, said
local
residents
reported
seeing
several
US
military
helicopters
on
low-altitude
flights
over
the
area
where
the
crash
took
place,
which
is
apparently
beyond
the
reach
of
civilians. US
forces
use
transport
aircraft
for
ferrying
both
goods
and
troops
in
response
to
frequent
attacks
on
US
convoys
on
Iraq's
roads, Abd
al-Rahman said. Vulnerable
aircraft But
as
these
aircraft
fly
at
relatively
slow
speeds
and
at
low
altitudes,
they
are
vulnerable
to
rocket
attacks
by
fighters
who
can
fire
and
withdraw. No
group
has
claimed
responsibility
for
the
downing
of
the
helicopter
so
far,
he
added. Four
US
marines
were
killed
in The
US
Marines
declined
to
provide
the
cause
of
the
crash. In
a
separate
incident,
four
One
soldier
was
killed
in
a
clash
with
fighters
north
of
Baghdad,
the
US
military
also
said,
while
another
was
killed
in
a
bomb
blast
in
the
capital
itself. "A
Task
Force
Baghdad
soldier
died
from
an
improvised-explosive-device
detonation
about
4.30
pm
(1330
GMT)
26
January,"
said
a
US
military
statement.
The
latest
fatalities
mark
the
highest
single-day
toll
of
US
soldiers
in
Iraq
-
37
- pushing
the
total
to
1418
since
the
March
2003
invasion.
Aljazeera
+
Agencies You
can
find
this
article
at: |
|
|
