LONDON - Two people were killed and one very seriously wounded Sunday when two British military helicopters crashed in Iraq, Defence Secretary Des Browne said here. ‘Now that next of kin have been informed, I can confirm that the two helicopters reported this morning as having crashed north of Baghdad earlier today were, in fact, both UK helicopters,’ Browne said in a statement. ‘Sadly, two personnel have died and one is very seriously injured. All of these were UK personnel. My thoughts and sympathy are with them and their families.The Puma helicopters, which normally carry up to 16 people with a crew of three, came down in the early hours of the morning in a rural area southwest of Taji, home to a huge American military base north of Baghdad. It was understood that the others on board escaped with minor cuts and bruises and further details of the incident would not be released before Monday.
The BBC, citing military sources, said the helicopters were taking part in a special forces operation, which would therefore explain why the incident occurred so far north of where British troops are based: the main southern city of Basra. A defence ministry spokesman said: ‘I can’t talk about the particular mission they were involved in, but we do have units operating as part of the coalition across Iraq.’
The US military said the crash appeared to be the result of a mid-air collision.