Al-Qaida-linked insurgents claim to have downed a U.S. military helicopter

Monday, January 22nd 2007, 4:09 pm

By: News On 6

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ An al-Qaida-linked coalition of Iraqi Sunni insurgents claimed Monday that its fighters shot down an American military helicopter in a crash that killed 12 U.S. soldiers. The U.S. military has said the cause of the crash has not been determined.

The insurgent coalition, the Islamic State in Iraq, posted the claim on an Islamic Web site, saying that ``the lions of Iraq's Islamic state managed to down a Black Hawk on Saturday, which was followed by a clash with the Crusaders, and that led to the destruction of two Humvees and the annihilation of those inside, thanks be to God.''

The posting's authenticity could not be independently verified, but it appeared on a Web site used as a clearing house for militant statements. The Islamic State in Iraq is believed to be the political wing of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The Army Black Hawk crashed in good weather in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces have been battling Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias for months in the province.

A U.S. military spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle, said the cause had not been determined. Navy Capt. Frank Pascual, a member of a U.S. media relations team in the United Arab Emirates, told Al-Arabiya television that the helicopter was believed to have suffered technical troubles before going down.

In Washington, a senior U.S. military official said Monday that investigators had found debris near the crash scene that could belong to a shoulder-fired weapon which may have been used to shoot down the helicopter. The official, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said there was some belief that the piece of debris was a tube.

Officials were still combing through the debris to make a final determination about the cause of the crash.

The helicopter crash was the fourth deadliest since the start of the war in March 2003.