CAMP
AS-SALIYAH, Qatar, March 20 (IsmaoNline.net & News Agencies) -
Marking the first of its anticipated looses in the war of aggression on
Iraq, a U.S. Air Force helicopter crashed in southern Iraq early
Thursday, March 20.
A
U.S. military spokesman claimed the helicopter gunship was not targeted
by Iraqi fire, reported Agence Francfe-Press (AFP).
"An
Air Force MH 53 helicopter went down while conducting operations over
southern Iraq last night," Navy Captain Frank Thorp said.
"The
crew was returned safely to its operating base," he said, declining
to disclose where the helicopter was based.
Military
sources added that the mishap was not connected to the early morning
Tomahawk missile strikes on Iraqi targets by U.S. Navy vessels.
Thorp,
who said the cause of the mishap was under investigation, added that the
six-person crew, one of whom received minor injuries, was rescued by
another helicopter.
He
was speaking at Camp As-Saliyah, which serves as a computerized command
and control center for U.S. military aggression against Iraq.
