Iraqi army helicopter crash kills five: statement

Five Iraqi troops were killed Thursday when their helicopter crashed on a “combat mission” north of Baghdad, the military said in statement.

An Iraqi army helicopter crashed during a combat operation in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing all five crew members, the Iraqi military said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The helicopter went down near the northern town of Amerli, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, said the statement.

However, the army did not specify whether the helicopter crashed due to hostile fire or a technical malfunction.

Despite the defeat of the Islamic State militant group in 2017, remnants of the group switched to hit-and-run attacks against Iraq forces in different parts of Iraq.

Iraqi security forces have over the past months launched many operations in the area where the helicopter crashed to chase militants, military officials said.