U.S. Copter Goes Down North of Baghdad
Feb 2, 12:11 PM (ET)By KIM GAMEL
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. helicopter went down Friday in Iraq for the fourth time in two weeks, and America's top general acknowledged that its aircraft were increasingly in danger from ground fire.
Witnesses and local police said two helicopters were flying together when gunmen opened fire, sending one of the aircraft crashing to the ground, smoke trailing behind it, near Taji, an air base just north of Baghdad. Maj. David Small, a spokesman at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., confirmed that a helicopter had gone down, but said he had no other details.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday that clearly, "ground fire ... has been more effective against our helicopters in the last couple weeks." The comments marked the first time a military official has publicly acknowledged the recent crashes were caused by ground fire.
"I've taken a hard look at that, don't know whether or not this is statistically what's going to happen over time, when you're flying at that level and people are shooting at you, or if this is some kind of new tactics or techniques that we need to adjust to."
LinkHere
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. helicopter went down Friday in Iraq for the fourth time in two weeks, and America's top general acknowledged that its aircraft were increasingly in danger from ground fire.
Witnesses and local police said two helicopters were flying together when gunmen opened fire, sending one of the aircraft crashing to the ground, smoke trailing behind it, near Taji, an air base just north of Baghdad. Maj. David Small, a spokesman at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., confirmed that a helicopter had gone down, but said he had no other details.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday that clearly, "ground fire ... has been more effective against our helicopters in the last couple weeks." The comments marked the first time a military official has publicly acknowledged the recent crashes were caused by ground fire.
"I've taken a hard look at that, don't know whether or not this is statistically what's going to happen over time, when you're flying at that level and people are shooting at you, or if this is some kind of new tactics or techniques that we need to adjust to."
LinkHere
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 1:46 PM
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