An American helicopter crashed Tuesday northeast of Baghdad, killing the two Americans aboard, Iraqi police said. According to the AP, police said the aircraft might have been hit near the village of Jezani al-Chol, east of Baqouba.

US raid

A U.S. air strike killed several members of one family in the town of Baiji in northern Iraq, Iraqi security forces said on Tuesday. According to Reuters, there were conflicting official accounts of the death toll.

An Iraqi official in Tikrit at the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) said 14 died when their house was destroyed in the raid late on Monday. A police officer in Tikrit later put the toll at six with three wounded but the JCC spokesman insisted 14 had been killed. Another four houses were hit.

Jordanian hostage

Meanwhile, the kidnappers of a Jordanian embassy driver in Iraq gave a new three-day ultimatum to kill him if the Kingdom declines to free a would-be suicide bomber, Al-Arabiya satellite channel reported. "They threatened to kill the hostage unless the Jordanian government fulfills their demands ... within three days," said the Dubai-based channel on Tuesday.

The channel aired a brief video clip of the hostage sitting on a chair in front of three gunmen wearing masks, including one who appeared to be reading a message from their group, identified as the "Hawks Brigade."

© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)