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US Black Hawk crashes in Iraq
All 14 people on board the helicopter are killed.
Last Modified: 22 Aug 2007 10:34 GMT


A US helicopter has crashed in northern Iraq killing 14 soldiers on board.

The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was carrying four crew and 10 passengers when it came down during a night operation on Wednesday, the US military said.

A statement said the aircraft experienced mechanical problems and that there was no sign of hostile fire.

The soldiers killed were with Task Force Lightning. Their names were being withheld until next of kin have been notified.
 
The helicopter was one of two Black Hawks undertaking the operation. It is the deadliest crash for the US army since January 2005.
 
 
Baiji attack
 
In a separate development, a suicide bomber has killed at least 20 people and wounded 80 after ramming his explosives-laden truck into a police station in the northern town of Baiji.
 
Saad Noori, a police captain, said the police station that was targeted was in the centre of a market in in the town, 200km north of Baghdad.
 
Noori said: "A big part of the police station has collapsed and lots of shops are damaged."
 
Saad Jasim, a doctor at Baiji's general hospital, confirmed the attack and said his medical facility had received 20 bodies of people killed in the blast.
 
He said most of the wounded were civilians and included four children and five women.
 
Jasim said: "The toll is expected to rise as many people are trapped in the debris of the police station."
 
The oil refining town has regularly witnessed bomb attacks and the kidnapping of truck drivers transporting fuel products from the town to other parts of the country.
 
In a similar attack on June 24, 15 people were killed when a suicide bomber ploughed an oil tanker packed with explosives into the town's police headquarters.
Source:
Agencies
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