Two US servicemen were missing yesterday after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq, while security forces launched a fresh bid to regain control of Baghdad's violent streets.
The US military said the transport chopper went down on Tuesday in the restive province of Al-Anbar and that two of the six crew had not been found.
"The aircraft has been located. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing for two missing crew members. The remaining four are in stable condition," US Marine Corps spokesman Major Riccoh Player said.
"We are using all the resources available to find our missing comrades," he said, adding: "The incident does not appear to be a result of enemy action."
Frequent crashes
The chopper crash was the third such since May. The previous two were allegedly shot down by groups linked to terror network al-Qaeda.
The 130,000-strong US force in Iraq relies extensively on helicopters to transport troops and supplies, survey territory and carry out air strikes on insurgent forces.
Many of the roads around Iraq are not regarded as safe for ground convoys because of the risk of roadside bombs and ambushes -- the biggest cause of casualties for the military since the March 2003 invasion ended.
Iraqi and US security forces, meanwhile, formally launched the second phase of a security plan aimed at regaining control of Baghdad that has seen thousands killed in insurgent and sectarian Shiite-Sunni violence.
Phase one of Operation Together Forward began in June, but has failed to curb the violence that has seen daily bombings, shootings and sectarian killings leaving scores dead in the streets of Baghdad.
Insurgents have defied the security crackdown, carrying out deadly attacks on mosques and markets, while rival Shiite and Sunni death squads have rampaged through the capital's neighborhoods kidnapping, torturing and killing people.
The first phase of the operation brought more than 50,000 Iraqi and US troops on to the streets.
Reinforcements
When this failed to halt the bloodshed, officials brought an extra 6,000 Iraqi police and troops into the capital, along with 5,500 US soldiers pulled in from different missions elsewhere in Iraq.
"We must dramatically reduce the level of violence in Baghdad that is fuelling sectarianism," said Major General James Thurman, commander of US-led forces in the Baghdad region.
"Iraqi and US forces will help the citizens of Baghdad by reducing the violence that has plagued this city since the Samarra bombing," he said, referring to an insurgent attack on a revered Shiite mosque in February that triggered tit-for-tat Shiite-Sunni reprisals.
Under the first phase of Together Forward, troops killed or captured 411 "murderers associated with death squads," the US statement said.
SPEAKING OUT: After Siranudh Scott’s allegations surfaced, celebrities and public figures took to social media to share their own experiences of sexual misconduct and abuse A high-profile alleged sexual abuse case within a wealthy Thai beer brewing family has prompted a wave of painful accounts from survivors of unconnected abuse in the conservative nation. Siranudh Scott, a member of the billionaire Thai family that founded the ubiquitous Singha beer brand, posted an emotional video this month accusing his elder brother Sunit of repeatedly abusing him when he was a teenager. Sunit, who is in his 30s, later denied the allegations in a video posted online, but Singha parent Boonrawd dismissed him from his executive role with the company on Tuesday last week. “I felt I needed to speak
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
Forecasters in Europe yesterday warned of exceptional heat as record temperatures driven by a “heat dome” push temperatures well above seasonal norms across the continent. The surge follows a record-breaking Monday, with France logging its hottest day in the month of May on record, its weather agency said, and the UK also posting unprecedented highs. A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer. Restrictions on outdoor work were imposed in parts of Italy, beaches in southwest France filled earlier than usual and
RSS