11 killed as civilian helicopter is shot down in Iraq
Friday, April 22, 2005 at 11:58PM
TheSpook
Insurgent Violence Escalates in Iraq Over 100 Killed as Post-Election Calm Dissipates [more]
Insurgents in Iraq shot down a
commercial helicopter chartered by the US defence department yesterday,
killing all 11 people on board, including six American military
contractors. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the Russian-built Mi-8
helicopter near the town of Tarmiya, 25 miles north of Baghdad, just
before 2pm local time, according to US and Bulgarian military
officials. Television pictures showed two charred bodies lying near the
burning wreckage of what was believed to be the first civilian aircraft
shot down in two years of resistance to US-led multinational forces.
The Islamic Army in Iraq, a leading militant group, claimed
responsibility in an internet statement. The three crew members were
Bulgarian, six passengers worked for the US military contractor
Blackwater and two were Filipino guards. A Canadian-based company,
SkyLink Aviation Inc, had contracted the helicopter, which was owned by
a Bulgarian company, Heli Air. It was heading for Tikrit. [more]
