MOSUL, 16 November 2003 — Twelve coalition soldiers were killed when two US Black Hawk helicopters crashed in this northern Iraqi city yesterday, the military said. There was no word on the cause of the crash but witnesses said the two aircraft collided in mid-air.
Nine soldiers were injured in the crash that occurred at 6:30 p.m., said a military spokesman. He said the two helicopters belonged to the 101st Airborne Division which controls northern Iraq.
Witnesses said the helicopters came down in Borsa, a residential neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq’s third-largest city.
“I was leaving the mosque and I heard a boom,” said Hani, a witness who only gave his first name. He said two helicopters collided in mid-air before one crashed onto the roof of a house.
“The crash site has been secured by the US military, Iraqi police and firefighters,” said the military spokesman.
