Two U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq helicopter crash
By Andrew Marshall
Thu May 26, 9:44 PM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters)

- Two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq when their helicopter crashed after being shot at north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement on Friday

Two helicopters came under small arms fire near Baquba 60 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad on Thursday night, the U.S. military said. One crashed while the other sustained damage but landed safely at a U.S. base.

"Two Task Force Liberty soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed near Baquba on May 26," the statement said. "Coalition forces responded to the scene and secured the site."
A defense official at the Pentagon in Washington said the aircraft that went down was an OH-58 Kiowa, a single-engine two-seater helicopter. He added that there was no confirmation that the helicopter was shot down.

The killing brings to at least 1,649 the number of American military personnel who have lost their lives in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

Insurgents, who appear to have launched a fresh wave of violence in Iraq, frequently fire on U.S. aircraft and have brought down several helicopters before. >>>continued

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050527/wl_nm/iraq_dc_54