Helicopter shot down in Iraq; 5 killed

[Clarence]

Helicopter shot down in Iraq; 5 killed - Yahoo! News

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A helicopter owned by the private security firm Blackwater USA crashed Tuesday in central Baghdad, and five civilians were killed, a U.S. military official said. A senior Iraqi defense official said the aircraft was shot down over a predominantly Sunni neighborhood.

We've all heard of Blackwater?

"That just breaks my heart," said Katy Helvenston, mother of Scott Helvenston, a Blackwater employee who died in March 2004. "I'm so sick of these kids dying."

Someone needs to find out if this company was in New Orleans and why.

The article doesn't emphasize that the copter was Blackwater enough in my opinion.

Helvenston was killed, along with Jerko "Jerry" Zovko, Wesley J.K. Batalona, and Michael R. Teague, when a frenzied mob of insurgents ambushed a supply convoy they were escorting through Fallujah. The insurgents burned and mutilated the guards and strung two of the bodies from a bridge.

did anyone else not know that those guys were blackwater?

[The_Genius]

Who shot it down?

[Gods_Mercenary]

I'm guessing not an american soldier, but beyond that I wouldn't know, but it was over a sunni neighborhood.

[Clarence]

I had to run and was going to say more about who might have shot them down in the initial post. I figured someone else would see where I was going with it. The article has changed.

In the initial article, it was also stated over a Sunni neighborhood and blamed offhand on Shia because of its proximity. I know some of you know alot about the different factions at work.

Did anyone else know that the men dragged through the streets and hung from a bridge 2004 were blackwater?

[Clarence]

to add: One should post more of the article when they submit in breaking news (I guess). You never know what might change.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. security company helicopter crashed Tuesday as it flew over a dangerous Sunni neighborhood in the central Baghdad where insurgents and Iraqi security troops fought a prolonged gunbattle, and a U.S. official said five American civilians on board were killed.

..is how the first paragraph reads now.

C'mon, I know there's a group of people here who might have interest in what I've found. Do I stink bad?

[brien]

Can't verify this but the radio is reporting all five in the helicopter were shot in the back of the head execution style.

[Zeebadee]

Quote by: brien Can't verify this but the radio is reporting all five in the helicopter were shot in the back of the head execution style.

4 Americans in Iraq Crash Shot in Head
4 Americans in Iraq Crash Shot in Head

I think there's more to this than a simple shoot-down. Something smells about the whole incident.

"Another American official in Baghdad, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three Blackwater helicopters were involved. One had landed for an unknown reason and one of the Blackwater employees was shot at that point, he said. That helicopter apparently was able to take off but a second one then crashed in the same area, he added without explaining the involvement of the third helicopter."

[Praxius]

Geez... kinda sucks that you gotta get your information outside of your country.....

Here:

The ChronicleHerald.ca

Another Sunni insurgent group, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, also claimed responsibility for the same attack and posted identity cards of men who were on the helicopter on a website, including at least two that bore the name of Arthur Laguna, who was later identified by his mother as among those killed. The New York Times reported the helicopter went down as it came under attack and plummeted to the pavement through a tangle of electrical wires, but it was unclear if the crash resulted from gunfire, the wires or an effort to land. Quoting unnamed American officials, the newspaper said the helicopter's four-man crew was killed along with a gunner on a second Blackwater helicopter. Witnesses in the Fadhil neighbourhood told the AP that they saw the helicopter go down after gunmen on the ground opened fire, possibly striking the pilot or co-pilot or both. Accounts varied, but all were consistent that at least one person operating the aircraft had been shot and badly hurt before the crash. The helicopter was believed to have been flying escort above a VIP convoy on the ground as it headed away from the heavily fortified Green Zone to an undisclosed destination.

[jose]

The helicopter was shot down after responding to assist a U.S. Embassy ground convoy that came under fire in a Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad, said a U.S. diplomatic official in Washington.

A second helicopter also was struck, but there were no casualties among its crew, said the diplomatic official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to make statements.

The doomed helicopter swooped into electrical wires before the crash. U.S. officials said it was not clear if gunfire brought the aircraft down or caused its pilot to veer into the wires during evasive maneuvers.

Report: U.S. crew of downed helicopter shot at close range - CNN.com

[Clarence]

Blackwater

[jose]

The U.S. military's chief medical officer for Iraq was among a group of 12 high-ranking soldiers killed on Saturday in a helicopter crash outside Baghdad, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. Col. Brian Allgood, 46, was an orthopedic surgeon serving as command surgeon in Iraq. He and 11 other officers, mostly combat support personnel, were on what defense officials said was likely an "orientation flight" ahead of the arrival of other soldiers. Defense officials, however, declined discuss the group's specific mission at the time of the crash. Army officials also declined to say why a dozen high-ranking soldiers were traveling together. The group included two colonels -- the highest rank before the four-step class of generals in the U.S. Army -- as well as a lieutenant colonel, a major and a captain

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N24352935.htm

[Praxius]

Well... they sure knew how to pick their target.....

[jose]

The provincial governor of Najaf said a US military helicopter had been shot down by what he called "enemy fire" in Zarqa, scene of the clashes, and Iraqi police were quoted as saying the two crew on board were dead. A Reuters correspondent reported seeing an American helicopter trailing smoke after a burst of machine gun fire.

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