Troops Attacked After Iraq Copter Crash

FALLUJAH, Iraq - A U.S. military helicopter went down Tuesday outside Fallujah with no reported injuries to the crew, although a team securing the site later suffered unspecified casualties when it was ambushed by insurgents, a Marine commander said.


Masked militants said they hit the chopper with a rocket-propelled grenade, although Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne said it was not known why the Sikorsky H-53 went down.


U.S. troops later blew it up to keep it from being looted, he said.


Troops extracted those on board, and "there is no indication the crew was injured," Byrne said. He was not certain how many were aboard the aircraft, which was not part of his 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

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