Four soldiers were injured April 5 when a US military helicopter crashed 25 miles south of Baghdad. The US did not specify the cause of the crash, but witnesses reported hearing weapons fire from the ground. An Iraqi official speaking anonymously told BBC the chopper is believed to have been brought down by insurgents using an anti-aircraft machine gun. The crash came in the Sunni town of Latifiyah, part of the so-called “Triangle of Death.” This makes the ninth US helicopter brought down by Iraqi insurgent attacks since the start of the year. (UPI, Indo-Asian News Service, April 5)
Latifiyah has repeatedly been the scene of pitched battles between US forces and insurgents. In late 2004, hundreds fled the towns and neighboring Mahmoudya, taking refuge in a mosque outside the city, as US and British troops battled insurgents. (IRIN, Dec. 2, 2004)
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