96B
10-25-2003, 11:23 AM
(CNN) -- A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter went down east of Tikrit on Saturday evening, and the crew was fired on by attackers with rocket propelled grenades once it was on the ground, a coalition military spokesman said.
Five people were injured and evacuated safely, the spokesman said, adding that he did not know the severity of the injuries. It was not immediately known whether the troops were hurt when the helicopter went down, or in the grenade attack, he said.
The helicopter went down "due to reasons presently unknown," the spokesman said.
Earlier, three U.S. soldiers were wounded in Baghdad by an explosion that Army experts believe was caused by a mortar round. None of the wounds appeared to be life-threatening, the spokesman said.
Elsewhere in the city, coalition forces reopened a major bridge across the Tigris River to commercial traffic for the first time since the fall of Baghdad.
The bridge is one of the main routes linking the east and west sections of the city. Coalition forces closed it because they were concerned that it could be used to stage attacks on U.S. troops based nearby at Saddam Hussein's former palace.
The closed bridge caused traffic jams as vehicles had to drive around the city to get across the river.
Coalition authorities also plan to lift the curfew on the city overnight.
Meanwhile, near Tikrit, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter went down east of the city, according to Lt. Col. Troy Smith, who said there was "one routine wounded."
The Army would not confirm or deny reports that the helicopter had been hit by gunfire from the ground.
On Friday, three U.S. soldiers were killed in separate attacks in northern Iraq, U.S. military officials said.
Attackers fired two mortar rounds into a forward operating base for the 4th Infantry Division near Samarra, Maj. Josslyn Aberle said. Two soldiers were killed and four wounded, she said. Samarra is about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
The surviving soldiers have shrapnel wounds, Aberle said.
A quick reaction force set out after the attack and found a piece of the mortar but no sign of the attackers, she said.
In western Mosul, a soldier with the 101st Airborne Division was killed Friday in a small-arms attack, according to U.S. Central Command.
With the latest deaths, 347 U.S. troops have been killed since the Iraq war began in March, including 223 in hostile fire. President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1.
There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures, either during the period of major combat or after May 1. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said that the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/10/25/sprj.irq.main/index.html
Five people were injured and evacuated safely, the spokesman said, adding that he did not know the severity of the injuries. It was not immediately known whether the troops were hurt when the helicopter went down, or in the grenade attack, he said.
The helicopter went down "due to reasons presently unknown," the spokesman said.
Earlier, three U.S. soldiers were wounded in Baghdad by an explosion that Army experts believe was caused by a mortar round. None of the wounds appeared to be life-threatening, the spokesman said.
Elsewhere in the city, coalition forces reopened a major bridge across the Tigris River to commercial traffic for the first time since the fall of Baghdad.
The bridge is one of the main routes linking the east and west sections of the city. Coalition forces closed it because they were concerned that it could be used to stage attacks on U.S. troops based nearby at Saddam Hussein's former palace.
The closed bridge caused traffic jams as vehicles had to drive around the city to get across the river.
Coalition authorities also plan to lift the curfew on the city overnight.
Meanwhile, near Tikrit, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter went down east of the city, according to Lt. Col. Troy Smith, who said there was "one routine wounded."
The Army would not confirm or deny reports that the helicopter had been hit by gunfire from the ground.
On Friday, three U.S. soldiers were killed in separate attacks in northern Iraq, U.S. military officials said.
Attackers fired two mortar rounds into a forward operating base for the 4th Infantry Division near Samarra, Maj. Josslyn Aberle said. Two soldiers were killed and four wounded, she said. Samarra is about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
The surviving soldiers have shrapnel wounds, Aberle said.
A quick reaction force set out after the attack and found a piece of the mortar but no sign of the attackers, she said.
In western Mosul, a soldier with the 101st Airborne Division was killed Friday in a small-arms attack, according to U.S. Central Command.
With the latest deaths, 347 U.S. troops have been killed since the Iraq war began in March, including 223 in hostile fire. President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1.
There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures, either during the period of major combat or after May 1. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said that the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/10/25/sprj.irq.main/index.html