World, Middle East

US-led coalition soldier killed in Iraq chopper crash

Crash was not caused by hostile fire, coalition asserts

20.08.2018 - Update : 22.08.2018
US-led coalition soldier killed in Iraq chopper crash FILE PHOTO

By Ali Abo Rezeg

ANKARA

A soldier from a U.S.-led coalition has been killed -- and a number of others injured -- in a helicopter crash in Iraq, according to a coalition statement issued Monday.

In the statement, the coalition said that the helicopter had been conducting “a partnered counterterrorism mission” when it crashed for as-yet-unknown reasons.

“All personnel were recovered by coalition forces immediately following the incident and three were evacuated for further treatment,” the statement read, going on to note that the crash had not been caused by hostile fire.

An investigation has since been opened into the incident, it added.

The U.S.-led coalition was drawn up in 2014 with the ostensible aim of helping the Iraqi government fight the Daesh terrorist group.

Daesh’s military presence in Iraq was largely dismantled last year -- by Iraqi forces working in tandem with the coalition -- after the terrorist group overran much of the country in mid-2014.

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