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| Helicopter 'crashes near Baghdad' | Helicopter 'crashes near Baghdad' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The US military says it is checking reports that a helicopter has gone down north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. | The US military says it is checking reports that a helicopter has gone down north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. |
| Police and witnesses reported seeing a helicopter come down near a US air base at Taji, shortly after dawn. | Police and witnesses reported seeing a helicopter come down near a US air base at Taji, shortly after dawn. |
| Last month, 12 US soldiers died when a Black Hawk military helicopter crashed near Baghdad. | Last month, 12 US soldiers died when a Black Hawk military helicopter crashed near Baghdad. |
| US defence officials said it might have been shot down. Dozens of personnel have died in US helicopter crashes in Iraq since the invasion of March 2003. | US defence officials said it might have been shot down. Dozens of personnel have died in US helicopter crashes in Iraq since the invasion of March 2003. |
| "I can confirm that we are looking into reports that a helicopter went down north of Baghdad," US military spokeswoman Lt Col Josslyn Aberle said. | |
| Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed Iraqi military source as saying his unit saw the helicopter go down near Taji, about 30km (20 miles) north of the capital. | |
| "We don't know the reasons for the crash, nor its exact site because the US army has sealed off the area," the source said. | |
| Meanwhile authorities have declared a curfew in the Shia city of Najaf amid an upsurge of violence in the area. | |
| At least 58 people were killed and 150 injured in a double suicide bombing in nearby Hilla on Thursday. | |
| Also, some 263 members of a messianic cult were killed in clashes with US-backed Iraqi troops near Najaf earlier this week. |