Iraqi insurgents shoot down US chopper

Iraqi insurgents shoot down US chopper

Friday 02 January 2004, 21:53 Makka Time, 18:53 GMT

Guerrillas have shot down a US military helicopter in central Iraq, killing 
one pilot and injuring another, officials and witnesses said.

The OH-58 observation chopper crashed around 12:20 p.m. (09:20 GMT) in 
Falluja, west of Baghdad, after it came under resistance fire, the U.S. 
Central Command said.

A policeman who witnessed the crash said the aircraft was apparently hit by 
a missile.

"We were in a joint patrol with U.S. troops to remove landmines and I saw a 
helicopter hovering in the sky which was hit by a missile," policeman 
Mohammad Abdul Aziz said. "It was split into two and went down in flames."

It was the fifth U.S. helicopter shot down by guerrillas in Iraq in recent 
months. In November, they brought down three Black Hawk utility helicopters 
and a Chinook transporter, killing a total of 39 U.S. soldiers.

The latest death brings to 328 the number of U.S. servicemen killed in 
enemy action since coalition forces invaded Iraq in March.

Aljazeera's correspondent in Iraq reports that an Iraqi was killed and 
another was wounded on Friday when US forces opened fire randomly at the 
car they were travelling in.

The incident took place after a US convoy came under attack from an 
improvised explosive device near Ramadi, west of Iraq.

Witnesses told our correspondent that the explosion left causalities among 
the US soldiers and set an oil-truck ablaze. As a result, the US forces 
sealed off the highway and launched a search operation.

US forces on Friday arrested what they called a "foreigner" accused of 
smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq.

The arrest took place in the Ramadi city of Rutba, near the Iraqi-Jordanian 
borders. "This afternoon at 12:35 am (09:35 GMT), elements of the 3rd 
Armored Cavalry Regiment captured Abu Muhammad... a key facilitator 
operating in the al-Anbar province," the US military said in a statement.

"He is believed to be responsible for moving foreign fighters
and large sums of cash throughout the area of operations."

Ten people referred to as "terrorists" by the US military were also 
captured in the same area.

English.aljazeera.net

-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope
		--Brecht.


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