U.S. Black Hawk "Forced Down" In Iraq, 6 US Soldiers Killed

"We are aware of reports that a Blackhawk was forced down in the area of Tikrit. We know it happened," a U.S. spokeswoman admitted, adding that U.S. forces had secured the area where the military chopper went down.

The helicopter "landed outside the perimeter of force operation base Ironhorse in the Tikrit area," said Lieutenant Colonel Bill MacDonald, a spokesman for the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, which operates in the northern area.

"At approximately 9:40 am (0640 GMT), a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter went down in Tikrit on the east side of the Tigris river near the main palace complex," he added.

"The number of people in the helicopter is still being verified," he said. "We sent rescue and security teams.

According to the BBC, a Blackhawk can carry up to 12 people plus four crew members.

Tikrit, 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad, is the home town of ousted president Saddam Hussein and has been the scene of frequent attacks against the U.S.-led occupation forces."

A Blackhawk helicopter was shot down near Tikrit on October 25, injuring one crew member.

On November 2, Iraqi fighters shot down an American Chinook helicopter gunship outside the flashpoint town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, killing 16 U.S. soldiers, in what was described as the heaviest fatalities sustained by the occupation forces since March 2003.

Soldier Killed

In another development, one U.S. soldier was killed and seven were wounded when their convoy was ambushed by resistance fighters firing rocket-propelled grenades in Mosul, a spokesman at the U.S. military base in the city.

The attack occurred at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) in the eastern part of Mosul, 370 kilometers (230 miles) north of Baghdad, said Major Hugh Cate.

The latest fatalities raise to at least 147 the number of U.S. troops killed in combat since May 1, when U.S. President George Bush declared major hostilities had ended, according to an AFP count.

During the main, six-week offensive before that date, 114 Americans died from hostile fire.

Two U.S. soldiers and a Polish officer were killed in separate attacks in Iraq Thursday, November 6.

Iraqi Killed

Meanwhile, an Iraqi woman was killed and her husband wounded when a mortar bomb struck their house in Moqdadiya, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

Yunes Ibrahim Hatem, 39, said it was one of four bombs which apparently targeted an adjacent police station, where there are also U.S. troops.

The wounded husband added that the other three fell in an empty field near his home.