Nine die in unexplained Iraq chopper crash

12.30pm


BAGHDAD - Nine US soldiers were overnight when a Black Hawk helicopter went down in Iraq and dozens more had a narrow escape when a huge C-5 transport plane was hit by ground fire shortly after takeoff.

The incidents came as the military freed some 60 Iraqis following an amnesty intended to ease resentment at the detention of thousands of guerrilla suspects.

The Black Hawk came down during a "routine" mission near Falluja, a Sunni Muslim bastion of support for Saddam Hussein, US military spokesmen said, giving no details as to the cause of the crash. All nine aboard were killed.

None of the 63 people aboard the C-5 Galaxy were injured by the explosion in one of its four engines after it left Baghdad airport as the vast place made a safe emergency landing.

But the attack has even graver implications for US and Iraqi efforts to rebuild the country's transport links.

One local man who said he saw the Black Hawk come down told Reuters Television that the helicopter was in flames before it crashed. Some news reports said it appeared to have been struck by a rocket. US spokesmen said they were still investigating.

Low-flying helicopters are regular targets for anti-American insurgents. Seventeen soldiers were killed in the deadliest such attack when two Black Hawks collided under fire in November.

A military official in Washington told Reuters a missile might have struck the C-5, one of the biggest planes in the world. The US military later said guerrillas appeared to have hit the plane but that it was not clear what weapon they used.

"Initial reports indicate the incident is the result of hostile action from the ground, but the type of weapon and other details are unknown," the US Air Mobility Command said in a statement from Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

A civilian cargo Airbus operated by the DHL courier company was hit by a surface-to-air missile on take-off from the same major airport in November and made a safe emergency landing. A month ago a military C-17 transporter returned to Baghdad when an engine exploded. Officials called it a "safety incident".

Concern about the proliferation of small, shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles has so far prevented the restoration of airline links to what was once Baghdad's Saddam International terminal, forcing most transport to be confined to roads where ambushes and remote-controlled bombs are a constant hazard.

Near Falluja, 50km west of Baghdad, Mohammed Hussein said he saw two helicopters flying over around 2pm (midnight NZ time): "We saw flames on the second helicopter and then it changed direction. And then we heard a loud explosion."

"We have confirmation that there were nine personnel on board," senior spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a news conference. "There were no survivors."

Another spokesman said all aboard were US soldiers.

Last week, a Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter was shot down in the area. One pilot died, the other was wounded.

The prisoners freed on Thursday were brought out of the Abu Ghraib jail near the capital, which once housed Saddam's enemies, in two open trucks and let out 2km away.

Honking their car horns and raising huge clouds of dust, hundreds of people who had been waiting outside the prison all day set off in pursuit. Later, they surrounded the freed men, searching desperately for friends and relatives.

Many of those released looked relieved but some were bitter.

"I'm very happy to be free," shouted Kamal Risaeya, 32, an identification tag still hanging from his leg. "I'm just looking forward to seeing my family."

Risaeya said he was detained in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit and held for five months. He said he was not harmed in custody.

But another man, who refused to give his name, said he had been mistreated. His voice shaking with anger, he said: "I'm free, but now I will attack them."

US administrator Paul Bremer announced the amnesty on Wednesday, saying detainees rounded up since April who did not have "bloodstained hands" would be freed to promote reconciliation. US forces have seized about 9500 suspects since April, most of whom are being held at Abu Ghraib.

Some 506 prisoners have been pencilled in for release.

Coalition spokesman Dan Senor refused to confirm if those freed at Abu Ghraib during the day had qualified under the new amnesty programme. But he said typically other releases from the jail involved people detained only for a few days.

The new policy follows the capture of Saddam last month, which US officials say has led many more Iraqis to co-operate with the occupation, and comes as the United States prepares to hand over power to Iraqis at the end of June.

Spain's defence minister said US prison interviews indicated that Saddam had directed guerrilla operations from his hideouts and personally ordered attacks on foreigners.

"It seems Saddam ruled the roost," said Federico Trillo.

Officials have previously said most Iraqi insurgents saw Saddam as a figurehead rather than an organiser of resistance.

Six mortar bombs hit a US military base west of Baghdad late on Wednesday, killing one soldier and wounding about 30.

- REUTERS


Herald Feature: Iraq