Baghdad, Iraq – A U.S. Army helicopter crashed Friday in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad, police and witnesses said – the fourth lost in Iraq in the past two weeks. The U.S. command said two crew members were killed, and the top U.S. general conceded that insurgent ground fire has become more effective.
An al-Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility and said its fighters had “new ways” to attack American aircraft.
A brief U.S. military statement gave no reason for the crash and did not identify the type of aircraft. A Pentagon official said it was an Apache attack helicopter, which carries two crew members.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Another Apache crashed Jan. 28 during heavy fighting with a Shiite cult near Najaf, also killing two soldiers.
Iraqi police and witnesses said the latest crash occurred as two Apaches were flying along a well-established route near Taji, a major U.S. base 12 miles north of Baghdad.
One helicopter was struck by heavy machine-gun fire but continued flying, the witnesses said. The other helicopter banked sharply and flew back toward the source of fire, apparently to attack the target.
But that helicopter was also struck by ground fire, exploded in a ball of fire and crashed, witnesses said. The other helicopter flew away, they said.
Losses raise questions
The United States has lost more than 50 helicopters in Iraq since May 2003, about half of them to hostile fire.
However, the loss of four helicopters since Jan. 20 has raised new questions about whether Iraqi insurgents are using more sophisticated weapons or whether U.S. tactics need changing.
Three of the latest crashes involved Army helicopters – two Apaches and one Black Hawk. The fourth was an OH-6A observation helicopter operated by the Blackwater USA security firm. All were believed shot down, and 20 Americans, including four civilians, died in the crashes.
The Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda-linked group, claimed Friday that it shot down the Apache near Taji in a statement posted on an extremist website.
“We tell the enemies of God that the airspace of the Islamic State in Iraq is prohibited to your aircraft just like its lands are,” the statement said. “God has granted new ways for the soldiers of the State of Iraq to confront your aircraft.”
The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters to avoid roadside bombs and insurgent ambushes. Any new threat to helicopters would be a serious challenge to the military as it gears up for a major crackdown against Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias in Baghdad.
Vulnerable to bullets
Helicopters are always vulnerable to ground fire, said Stephen Trimble, Americas bureau chief for Jane’s Defence Weekly. “A well-placed bullet can pretty much take down any helicopter,” he said.
Protecting helicopters from attack is significantly more complicated than defending against roadside bombs, Trimble said. “What you would do with a Humvee is up armor it,” he said.
But helicopters can’t support a significant increase in weight. The U.S. military is looking into technology that tracks and fires at rocket- propelled grenades, he said, but its use on helicopters is a long way off.
