US military helicopter crashes in Iraq

Washington March 16 (IANS) A US military HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter a Black Hawk variant has crashed in Iraq near the border with Syria according to US defence officials.

A US defence official said that there were "likely fatalities" involved and rescue teams were on the scene in under an hour CNN reported on Thursday.

The officials cautioned that these are early reports and that the Pave Hawk was carrying seven personnel but was not on a combat mission.

The officials said the early reports do not indicate hostile fire but they emphasized they need to determine what happened.

"A US military aircraft has crashed in western Iraq with US service members aboard " the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq told CNN.

"Rescue teams are responding to the scene of the downed aircraft at this time. Further details will be released when available. An investigation will be initiated to determine the cause of the incident."

--IANS
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