Fourteen US soldiers were killed on Wednesday when their
helicopter crashed in northern Iraq, the US military said.
The military said in a statement that the 14 soldiers, assigned
to Task Force Lightning, died when the Black Hawk helicopter they
were riding went down in northern Iraq on Wednesday.
The helicopter was carrying four crew members and 10 soldiers
when it went down during a nighttime operation in northern Iraq,
said the statement.
The statement also said that initial indications showed the
chopper was suffering a mechanical problem and there was no
indication of hostile fire.
It was one of the single deadliest incidents for the US military
since its invasion into Iraq in March of 2003.
The latest death brings the number of US soldiers who have been
killed in Iraq to about 3,720 since the Iraq war broke out in 2003,
according to media count based on Pentagon figures.
(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2007)
