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U.S. Helicopter Shot Down In Iraq, 15 Killed
Additional
reporting By Subhy Haddad, IOL correspondent
BAGHDAD,
November 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In the heaviest
causality sustained by the occupation forces since March 2003, fifteen
U.S. soldiers were killed and 21 wounded when an American helicopter
gunship was shot down Sunday, November 2, outside the flashpoint town
of Fallujah.
"As
a result of the crash, 15 were killed in action and 21 wounded,"
Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted U.S. army Colonel Bill Darley as
confirming.
Commenting
on the news, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said: "It
does appear that a U.S. helicopter was probably shot down from the
ground and it crashed, and a large number of Americans, possibly 12,
13, maybe more even have died."
Lamenting
it as "a tragic day for America," he speculated the chopper
was downed by a surface-to-air missile.
"We've
known about surface-to-air missiles since before we went in," he
said.
"They
are dangerous and they exist in that country in large numbers, as they
do in that part of the world. So it's always a risk."
Soldiers
sealed off the site, as helicopters hovered over the disaster area,
which was littered with smoldering wreckage.
The
down warplane was one of two Chinook helicopter gunships flying nearly
60 U.S. troops from a military base to Baghdad International Airport,
to leave for recreation, reported the BBC News Online.
It
was shot down near Fallujah, 50 kilometers west of the capital, which
has become a death zone for the American occupation forces.
A
U.S. military spokesman said the helicopter had been fired on with an
"unknown weapon".
But
reporting from the scene of the attack, CNN's Jane Arraf said
witnesses saw a shoulder-type missile strike the helicopter just
before it crashed into a field in a farming area.
"They
(U.S. forces) are controlling traffic, with guns at the ready. They
are saying it is still a volatile area," she said.
"The
area is in the middle of farmland, and it would be extremely easy for
somebody to hide here and launch a missile, which is what witnesses
are saying."
This
is the deadliest combat day for the U.S. since March 23, the day 28
American troops died in battle, according to CNN.
Eight
days ago, a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed near the northern town
of Tikrit after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Jubilant
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American soldiers carry a stretcher to the scene after a U.S. Chinook helicopter, right, was brought down
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Iraqis
displayed blackened pieces of wreckage to journalists, and in nearby
Falluja residents celebrated in the streets, reported the BBC.
"This
was a new lesson from the resistance, a lesson to the greedy
aggressors," one Iraqi told the Associated Press news agency.
"They'll
never be safe until they get out of our country."
An
Iraqi farmer near the crash site told Reuters: "We will hold a
celebration because this helicopter went down - a big
celebration."
More
Attacks
The
shooting down of the helicopter gunship was one of three separate
attacks Sunday.
A
U.S. soldier was killed Sunday in a bomb attack on a military convoy
traveling through Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.
The
soldier, from the 1st Armored Division, died in hospital at 3:45 am
(0045 GMT) after a bomb exploded earlier in the morning.
He
said at least 20 casualties could be confirmed, but did not
immediately say whether they were killed or wounded.
An
American military convoy was attacked in Fallujah, about an hour
before the Chinook, but it is not clear whether any injuries were
sustained.
General
Ricardo Sanchez, commander of the American ground forces in Iraq, has
described the attacks as strategically and operationally
insignificant, reported the BBC.
It
added that planning and execution of some recent attacks has led to
speculation the resistance has now formed into a more cohesive, better
organized force.
These
new 14 fatalities bring to 136 the number of U.S. combat deaths since
U.S. President George W. Bush declared an end to major hostilities May
1, according to a Pentagon count.
On
Saturday, two
U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division
were killed in an explosion near the northern city of Mosul after
their military vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
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