13 Soldiers Killed in Helicopter Crash - Possibly shot down - Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. military helicopter crashed Saturday northeast of Baghdad, killing all 13 people on board, a new blow to American efforts in Iraq as U.S. and Iraqi forces prepare for a major security operation to pacify the capital and surrounding areas.

The military said the crash was under investigation. The brief U.S. statement lacked the customary comment that the aircraft was not shot down, indicating it may have come under fire by insurgents.

The helicopter was carrying 13 passengers and crew members and all were killed, it said. No further details were released, including the exact location of the crash.

The violent Diyala province sits northeast of Baghdad, and U.S. and Iraqi forces have been battling Sunni insurgents and Shiite militia forces around its main city of Baqouba for months.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

we'll never know it.

...as the regional balance of power is now destabilized. So its going to cost our soldiers more. It's costing the neighboring powers, and it hurts, so the quality of arms supplied to the insurgents will increase.

I imagine Iraq will be flooded with them soon. :(

What is wrong with this country?

Taps
music by Brig. Gen. Butterfield, 1862
lyrics by unknown

Fading light, dims the sight;
And a star, gems the sky, gleaming bright;
From afar, drawing nigh;
Falls the night...

Day is done, gone the sun;
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh...

Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light, of the dawn, shineth bright;
God is near, do not fear;
Friend, goodnight...

An Interior Ministry official and the police in Diyala Province said the American helicopter was shot down at about 4 p.m. by insurgents who fired missiles, or possibly grenades, from at least two locations. It crashed near Tarrafa Village, they said, over a rural area near the Diyala River.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/world/middleeast/21iraq.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I feel sure. Such an awful waste.