The United States has been investigating a series of
military helicopter crashes in Iraq.
Officials said the Defense Department and the U.S. Army have been
examining the downing of three helicopters in Iraq within the past two
weeks. They said the cause of the crashes has not been determined.
"Is there a pattern?" Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita asked. "Is there a new threat out there that we need to be more aware of?"
The crashes led to the death of 12 U.S. servicemembers and four
civilians. All of the incidents took place in January, with the latest crash
on Jan. 16, Middle East Newsline reported.
In each case this month, a different model helicopter was downed. The helicopters
were identified as the UH-60 Black Hawk, OH-58D Kiowa and the AH-64 Apache.
One possibility being examined was that all three helicopters were
downed by Iraqi insurgents. Officials said the insurgents might have
developed a new means of attack.
In 2003, Sunni insurgents began to employ rocket-propelled grenades to
down U.S. helicopters in Iraq. The success of this insurgency tactic led to
a U.S. military order for helicopters to reach an altitude that was beyond
the range of RPGs.
Since then, insurgents have also used Soviet-origin SA-7 surface-to-air
missiles against U.S. and British fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. At least
two military air transports were reported to have been struck.
"Certainly, in recent weeks three helicopters have gone down," Di Rita said. "Nothing has
been ruled in or out in any of those three cases yet."
