Iraq

Forces retaliate after copter crash

Six soldiers are killed in the crash, the third caused by hostile fire in Iraq in two weeks.

TIKRIT, Iraq - American troops backed by Bradley fighting vehicles swept through Iraqi neighborhoods before dawn today, blasting houses suspected of being insurgent hideouts with machine guns and heavy weapons fire in retaliation for the downing of an Army helicopter that killed six soldiers.

The Black Hawk crashed Friday, apparently shot down by insurgents, capping the bloodiest seven days in Iraq for Americans since the fall of Baghdad.

"This is to remind the town that we have teeth and claws and we will use them," Lt. Col. Steven Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, said of today's raids.

Russell said the 11 p.m. to 4a.m. curfew, which had been lifted at the Oct. 27 start in Iraq of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, was reinstated Friday night.

The U.S. death toll for the week climbed to 32, including those aboard the Black Hawk. Two soldiers were killed near Mosul, raising concerns that the insurgency was spreading north.

The Black Hawk crashed on an island in the Tigris River and burst into flames - the third crash caused by hostile fire in two weeks and the second causing deaths. Maj. Josslyn Aberle said the cause of the crash had not been determined, but several officers believed it was shot down.

"We believe it was something fired from the ground from the side of the river," Russell said. "We believe it was brought down by gunfire."

After the raids before dawn today, intermittent explosions and the crackle of random gunfire could be heard across Tikrit.

The helicopter, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, went down about 9:40 a.m. about a half mile from the U.S. base in Saddam Hussein's former palace, which serves as headquarters for the 4th Infantry Division.

Afterward, attack helicopters cruised throughout the day over Hussein's hometown, swooping low over villages and farms as rescuers picked through the charred wreckage of the aircraft.

Late Friday, U.S. troops fired mortars and U.S. jets dropped at least three 500-pound bombs around the crash site. At least three mortars were fired onto the U.S. compound but caused no damage.

The dead included the Black Hawk's four-member crew and two soldiers from Army headquarters, said Maj. Steve Stover.

In Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad, guerrillas attacked a convoy with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire Friday. The military said one U.S. soldier died and six were wounded in the clash. Another soldier died in Mosul the night before when a homemade bomb exploded, the military said Friday.

Both of the soldiers, and the Black Hawk's four-man crew, were from the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

Three soldiers were hurt later Friday when a roadside bomb exploded near the Mosul Hotel, which is used as a military barracks, the military said. Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, had been considered relatively safe for American soldiers until an escalation of attacks there over the past three weeks.

The latest deaths brought to 32 the number of American soldiers who have died in Iraq in the first week of November, which includes a 1st Armored Division soldier who died in a nonhostile shooting incident. Two American civilian contractors also died in attacks. The toll was by far the largest for any seven-day period since President Bush declared an end to hostilities on May 1.

U.S. officers have long been concerned about the safety of aviation because of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of shoulder-fired missiles missing in Iraq after the collapse of Hussein's regime in April. The weapons were used by Somalis to fell two Black Hawk helicopters in fighting in Mogadishu in 1993, attacks depicted in the movie Black Hawk Down.

On Oct. 25, Iraqi insurgents shot down a Black Hawk over Tikrit, injuring a crewman. On Sunday, insurgent gunners brought down a Chinook transport helicopter west of Baghdad, killing 15 Americans in the bloodiest single strike against U.S. forces since the war began March20. One of the wounded in that crash died at a medical facility in Germany Thursday, raising the toll to 16.

U.S. officials said they are re-evaluating flying patterns and procedures, but said there is no way they can reduce their dependence on helicopters in Iraq or guarantee the string of deadly aircraft incidents won't continue.

Pentagon officials said Army commanders are considering a range of steps to make U.S. helicopters harder targets to hit, including flying at certain heights or faster speeds, taking different routes or flying with attack aircraft.

In the vast war theater of Iraq, commanders say there is not much alternative to the helicopter. Roads are not very reliable and increasingly dangerous because of frequent ambushes and the enemy's homemade bombs placed along roadsides with lethal effectiveness.

"The area is so large, you must utilize aviation operations," said Col. David Teeples, commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which polices a vast swath of western Iraq and was the unit in charge of the Chinook that went down Sunday.

Helicopter flyovers have become a daily fact of life in Iraq. The aircraft take on numerous tasks, including ferrying troops and cargo, providing cover for highly vulnerable supply convoys, evacuating the injured, surveillance of suspected enemy activity and quickly inserting troops into potential battle zones. Teeples said flying helicopters guarantees a certain amount of risk, no matter how much protective technology is used.

The spate of crashes and attacks also has prompted a re-examination of air defenses. All copters in combat zones are supposed to be equipped with automated systems that fire flares to confuse heat-seeking missiles, or dispense chaff - a sort of aluminum confetti - that jams enemy electronics. The aircraft are equipped with electronics that tell the pilot when his helicopter is being tracked by enemy radar.

Some pilots in the field have complained that aircraft used by Reserve and National Guard units are outfitted with older defense systems inferior to those used by active duty troops. The Pentagon dismisses those complaints.

- Information from the Los Angeles Times was used in this report.

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