DOHA, March 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Scoring more military gains against the invading troops, Iraqi forces downed Thursday, March 27, a U.S. Apache helicopter and destroyed three American tanks and an unmanned aircraft.

Al-Jazeera satellite channel aired Thursday exclusive footage of the Apache helicopter.

The helicopter, which bore the markings of the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry, was said to have been shot down by anti-aircraft fire in the mid-Euphrates region of Iraq, 100-200 kilometers (65-125 miles) south of Baghdad, between Babylon and An-Najaf, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

In the meantime, an Iraqi military spokesman refuted reports that U.S. troops were wounded by "friendly fire" near the southern city of An-Nasiriyah, asserting that Iraqi forces had inflicted the casualties.

"Our forces carried out consecutive raids on enemy columns near An-Nasiriyah, causing deaths and injuries," Hazim al-Rawi said at a press conference in Baghdad.

Rawi said the friendly fire claims were "lies just like the allegations of aircraft accidents."

He said clashes were continuing in An-Nasiriyah and that Iraqi commandos had "raided an enemy column," forcing it to withdraw after destroying four armored personnel carriers and killing those inside.

Another force from the same division raided another coalition column around An-Nasiriyah, "killing a large number of the enemy and wounding others," he said.

Also in An-Nasiriyah, the spokesman said tribesmen and ruling Baath party fighters engaged another armored enemy column heading towards Gharraf, inflicting "various losses."

He said the elite Republic Guards had engaged for the first time since the war began, in the central Euphrates region.

Small groups of Republican Guard forces had managed to "kill a large number of the enemy" and destroyed six armored vehicles, he said.

Mosul Raid Leaves 50 Killed, Wounded

The heavy air raid by U.S. and British occupation forces killed or wounded more than 50 civilians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday, al-Jazeera reported from the scene.

The station's correspondent said seven houses were destroyed in the unidentified district in the 6:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) raid, adding that many inhabitants were fleeing.

A local resident told the all-news Arabic channel that "at least 50 children" were hit, along with an "incalculable" number of women.

Destroyed houses and trucks filled with bags and baggage were shown leaving the scene.

Iraq Denies Losing 1,000 Men In Najaf Battle

In another development, Iraq denied reports from U.S. commanders that it had lost around 1,000 men in fighting in and around An-Najaf and Karbala.

"It's totally baseless," Al-Rawi told a press conference.

"If it was true, why don't the enemies show pictures of the dead on their televisions?" he asked.

U.S. army commanders said Wednesday, March 26, their troops had killed 1,000 Iraqis around An-Najaf, including 200 at a suspected chemical weapons plant in the town, 250 in two clashes on the east bank of the Euphrates and 100 on a bridge.

For his part, Head of Iraq's Civil Defense Service General Hatem Ali Al-Khalaf said the U.S.-British air raids on the two Shiite holy cities have only left 13 people dead and 56 wounded.

In An-Najaf, six people died Wednesday and six were hurt when the Al-Hussein residential area was hit and three more were hurt in a second raid on the city, he said.