Helicopters risky, but still best option in Iraq, Army pilot says

At least 17 U.S. choppers a month are reportedly hit by enemy fire in Iraq

Tina Susman, LATimes Staff Writer, via Iraqwar.ru

An Army pilot said Sunday that enemy fire hit at least 17 U.S. helicopters a month in Iraq but that flying time for troops was growing because of the risks of road travel. Maj. Gen. Jim Simmons, briefing reporters after a spate of helicopter crashes blamed on hostile fire, said pilots were dealing with a "knowledgeable, thinking enemy" and that investigators were looking into the possibility that two recent helicopter shoot-downs were the work of the same group. At least five U.S. helicopters have crashed since Jan. 20, and witnesses north of Baghdad, in Taji, said they had seen another helicopter go down Sunday. Military officials in the capital said they had no reports of the incident, which, if confirmed, would be the third helicopter crash in 10 days...

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