Missile hint on downed US chopper

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6288255.stm

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A US helicopter that crashed in Iraq on Saturday killing 12 soldiers may have been shot down by insurgents, US defence officials said.

"It may have been a shoulder-fired missile," an unnamed official was quoted telling the AFP news agency.

The same thing was reported by CNN. Officially, the Pentagon said only that the inquiry was still under way.

In all, 25 US troops were killed on Saturday, making it the third deadliest day for the US since it invaded Iraq.

The Black Hawk transport helicopter crashed near Baghdad, killing all on board.

Other troops were killed in clashes with militants and roadside bombs.

Rare death toll

An Iraqi website said a group calling itself Jaish al-Mujahideen [the Mujahideen army] had claimed to have shot down the helicopter.

The Pentagon said it had not reached any conclusion to its investigation, but US officials cited by CNN said the remains of a missile were found among the debris of the helicopter.

There have been previous US military helicopter crashes in Iraq but rarely causing casualties on a scale like this, says the BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Baghdad.

In 2005, 31 US troops died in a helicopter crash in bad weather near the Jordanian border.

In November 2003, two Black Hawks collided under fire over Mosul, killing 17 service personnel.