Helicopter Goes Down, Killing 14

An American helicopter crashed in northern Iraq today, killing all 14 soldiers aboard, reports CNN. The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was one of two performing a night operation when it went down in the area around Tikrit, north of Baghdad, the US military said in a statement.

All 14 casualities were members of the Army's Task Force Lightning. Four of them were helicopter crew members, and the other 10 were passengers. The military has opened an investigation into the incident but has indicated that the crash occurred due to a technical malfunction and that the helicopter was at no time subject to enemy fire. (More helicopter stories.)