Two US helicopters come under fire in Baghdad

Two US helicopters came under small arms fire in Baghdad on Tuesday but returned safely to base, the military said.

"Two helicopters have received small arms fire. Both helicopters returned safely to base. Both were in the central Baghdad area," Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver in an email.

Since January 20, at least 10 US helicopters - including two operated by private security firms - have come down in Iraq, most of them to hostile fire.
Source: AFP

A U.S. helicopter went down by gunmen's small arms fire in central Baghdad on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

"I can confirm that a U.S. helicopter had come under fire in the Fadhel district around two hours ago and went down in a residential area of Sheikh Omer," the source said.

There is no further detail about the incident as the U.S. and Iraqi troops had cordoned off the area, he added.

Meanwhile, witnesses said that U.S. troops were patrolling in the heavily populated area with two helicopters hovering above when gunmen opened fire at one of the helicopters.

They added that the clashes erupted between gunmen and the U.S. patrol when more U.S. troops rushed to the area after the helicopter crashed.

The gunmen also opened fire at another helicopter during the clashes but they failed to hit the target, witnesses said.

The U.S. military has not confirmed the incident yet.