Sea Knight helicopter crashes northwest of Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A Sea Knight helicopter crashed Wednesday northwest of Baghdad, sending flames and black smoke into the sky, the fifth chopper lost in Iraq in just over two weeks. An Iraqi air force officer said it was downed by an anti-aircraft missile.\nAn al-Qaida-linked Sunni group called the Islamic State in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack and said it would later issue a video of the helicopter's downing.\nThe twin-rotor CH-46 went down about 20 miles northwest of the capital, said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, although he declined to comment on casualties or give a cause for the crash.\n"A quick reaction force is on site and the investigation is going on as we speak," he told reporters in Baghdad.\nAt the Pentagon, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was in progress said there was a report that the number aboard the helicopter was fewer than 10 people.\nCaldwell also said the long-awaited Baghdad security operation "is ongoing as we speak," a day after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki acknowledged that the plan to pacify the violence-ridden capital had been slow to start and had allowed insurgents time to step up attacks that have killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks.\nU.S. military officials have said the operation began to be put in place when President Bush announced it Jan. 11 and Caldwell said Wednesday that it was "ongoing." Officials have said there would be no announced start of the security sweep but instead it would build gradually.\nThe Iraqi general who is leading the security drive, Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, took over the operation headquarters on Monday.\n"Portions are already being put in place, and we'll continue to put more into place as the forces arrive and the assets become available," Caldwell said.\nBush is increasing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by 21,500, including 17,500 for Baghdad, as part of the efforts. But the series of helicopter crashes underscores the dangers facing U.S. troops as they step up their presence.\nThe Iraqi air force officer, who was familiar with the investigation but spoke on condition of anonymity because he was disclosing confidential information, said the helicopter went down after it was hit by an anti-aircraft missile.\nWitnesses also said the helicopter had been shot down in a field in the Sheik Amir area northwest of Baghdad, sending smoke rising from the scene, in a Sunni-dominated area between the Taji air base, 12 miles north of Baghdad, and Karmah, 50 miles to the west of the capital.\n"The helicopter was flying and passed over us, then we heard the firing of a missile," said Mohammad al-Janabi, a farmer who was speaking less than a half-mile from the wreckage. "The helicopter, then, turned into a ball of fire. It flew in a circle twice, then it went down."\nIraqi insurgents have used heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and shouldered-fired SA-7 anti-aircraft missiles throughout the conflict. U.S. officials believe Iran is supplying Shiite militias with new weapons including more powerful roadside bombs, Katyusha rockets and a newer class of RPGs.\nSome of those weapons could have found their way into the hands of Sunni insurgents, who operate around Taji.\nThe U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters to avoid roadside bombs and insurgent ambushes. Any new threat to helicopters would be a serious challenge.\nU.S. forces sealed off the area and helicopters buzzed overhead as the wreckage burned in an open field, not far from at least one low concrete building. The CH-46 is used by the Marines primarily as a cargo and troop transport, and can carry 25 combat-loaded troops, according to the think tank GlobalSecurity.org.\nThe claim of responsibility came in an Internet statement signed by the Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella group of several Sunni insurgent groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq. The same group claimed responsibility for downing two other helicopters recently.\nThe authenticity of the statement -- posted on a Web forum where the group often issues statements -- could not be independently confirmed.\nThree other helicopters also have gone down since Jan. 20 killing a total of 19 Americans -- 14 troops and five civilian security contractors.\nThe military has said all four were believed to have been shot down, raising new questions about whether Iraqi insurgents are using more sophisticated weapons or whether U.S. tactics should be changed.