Seven American troops were killed when a Chinook transport helicopter crashed in southern Iraq on Thursday, the U.S. military said. According to Reuters, a military spokesman said it appeared mechanical failure was the cause of the crash of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter just after midnight.
"Right now it appears it was not hostile activity. It appears to be a mechnical malfunction," the spokesman said. According to him, the total number of personnel on board the helicopter was seven. The original number killed had been put at five, with two soldiers missing. The remains of those two soldiers were later found, the spokesman conveyed.
The helicopter was part of an aerial convoy flying from Kuwait to the Balad U.S. military air base in Iraq. The crash took place about 100 km west of the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
