Iraqi army copter crashes on ‘combat mission,’ 5 dead

BAGHDAD: Five Iraqi troops were killed on Thursday when their helicopter crashed on a “combat mission” north of Baghdad, the military said, as a security source confirmed it had been hit by ground fire.

The helicopter came down near Amerli in Salaheddin province, the military said.

Video footage sent to journalists in Baghdad showed firefighters attempting to put out a blaze in the wreckage of the aircraft.

The security forces had launched an operation on Tuesday to “search and clear areas in the south of Kirkuk province,” which borders Salaheddin, a statement on their Twitter account said.

The security source said that the helicopter that came down was one of two that had been checking pylons carrying high-voltage power lines in the area, a frequent target for holdout militants in recent months.

As the two aircraft approached Amerli district, one of them took a “direct hit” which forced it down.

Two rockets were fired early Thursday at Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone which houses the US embassy, without causing any casualties or damage, an Iraqi security source said.

One rocket hit the ground near the Al Rahman Mosque in the capital’s Mansur district, which borders the Green Zone, the interior ministry said, condemning the endangerment of public safety.

Iraqi researcher Isham al-shamary said the continuation of rocket and drone attacks on US interests “risks weakening the impact of the Washington announcement and highlights the Iraqi government’s inability to protect foreign troops.” The dawn attack came as Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhemi was flying home from Washington after White House talks on Monday in which President Joe Biden announced an end to US combat operations in Iraq.

Attacks on US interests in Iraq had been launched almost daily in recent months, blamed on proIran armed groups within the security apparatus.

But they had died down in the weeks running up to Kadhemi’s Washington visit during which he had faced pressure from hardliners to secure a firm withdrawal date for all remaining US troops.

There had been just one attack since the first week of July, a Saturday drone strike targeting an air base in Iraqi Kurdistan, which also caused no casualties or damage.

Biden said US relations with Iraq would enter a new phase with American troops exiting combat operations in the country by year-end.

Amid the threat of resurgence of the Daesh militant group and Iran’s powerful influence in Baghdad, Biden stressed that Washington remains “committed to our security cooperation” while Kadhemi reaffirmed the two countries’ “strategic partnership.”