Military: 2 injured after helicopter forced down

Above: An OH-58 Kiowa takes off for a mission after being armed at the Fuel Armaments Refueling Point (at Contingency Operating Base Speicher in May. Though there was no word on the type of helicopter downed, the two most recent reported downings of helicopters have involved the OH-58.

A U.S. military helicopter was forced down south of Baghdad on Friday morning, leaving two soldiers injured, the military said.

The helicopter was en route to support a planned mission when it made the forced landing in Youssifiyah, the military said, adding that the cause was not immediately clear from initial ground reports but was being investigated. Two soldiers sustained nonlife-threatening injuries, according to the statement.

U.S.-led forces had secured the site and recovered the aircraft, military spokesman Lt. Col. Rudolph Burwell said.

An Iraqi army officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information, said the helicopter went down after hitting an electricity pole at about 1:30 a.m. He said the raid was targeting a senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader in the agricultural area. Burwell said he could not confirm that report.

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