A U.S. military helicopter was shot down west of Baghdad on Friday, killing one soldier and wounding another, the U.S. military said.
In Baghdad, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said he had spoken to the 82nd Airborne Division about the cause of the crash of the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior near the town of Fallujah, where the division operates.
"They are fairly convinced that it was enemy fire," Kimmitt said.
A military statement said the helicopter was shot down at about 12:20 p.m.
"The downed helicopter's wingman provided over-watch as paratroopers operating in the area secured the site," the statement said.
The names of the pilots were withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The area has seen several attacks on helicopters in recent months. In the deadliest single attack on U.S. forces since the Iraq invasion began in March, 17 soldiers were killed when two Black Hawk helicopters collided in mid air above Mosul in what the military said was probably a grenade attack.
In other developments:
Five men posing as journalists fired assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at American paratroopers guarding the downed U.S. helicopter in Fallujah. Soon after paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived at the crash site, attackers ``wearing black press jackets with 'press' clearly written in English'' drove up in black and dark blue Mercedes cars and opened fire, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters.It was the first known instance of insurgents posing as journalists in their fight against U.S.-led occupation forces, Kimmitt said. No soldiers were hurt.
Mullah Krekar, the spiritual leader of the Iraqi-based Islamic militant group Ansar al-Islam, was arrested Friday on charges of helping a plot to murder rivals there during 2000-2001, his lawyer told The Associated PressGunbattles erupted in Kirkuk Friday as police sought to quell armed Arabs who were attacking Kurds. Ethnic tension recently erupted over fears of Kurdish domination of the oil-rich Iraqi city.In Mosul, the Saddam-appointed dean of political science of Mosul University was kidnapped and apparently assassinated. Adel Jabar Abid Mustafa — also a minor Baath Party official — was taken from his home Wednesday night and his body was found Thursday with two gunshots to his head, according to the dean's brother, Salim Abid MustafaIn Kirkuk, Police Chief Gen. Turhan Youssef said one Kurd was killed and one wounded by Arabs who shot them as they were walking in an Arab neighborhood Thursday night. Afterward, there was a shootout between Arabs and police, who killed two of the attackers and wounded several, said Jalal Jawher, local head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan partySecurity was being increased around hospitals and government buildings in the wake of the bombing of a Baghdad restaurant Wednesday.The end of the year marked the end of a month in which 40 U.S. soldiers died — less than half the 81 who perished in November, the deadliest month for Americans to date. May was the least dangerous month, with 37 deaths reported. U.S. forces lost 478 troops during the year in Iraq. More war dead hailed from California than any other state, with 52. Texas mourned 41, and Pennsylvania 27. Illinois and New York both lost 21.