One American Soldier Dead

One US soldier is dead, another wounded, after the military says their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter (file photo of type, below) was downed by groundfire near the Iraqi town of Fallujah Friday.

It was the third time in as many months that an American military helicopter had been shot down in that particular part of the so-called "Sunni Triangle," where Saddam Hussein loyalists and Iraqi resitance fighters seem concentrated. This time, US officials aren't yet certain what type of weapon was used to bring down the helicopter. But one witness, an Iraqi farmer, says he saw the Kiowa hovering over a group of US soldiers sweeping an area for mines at around noon.

The farmer said the Kiowa, which flew for the 82nd Airborne Division, had just been joined by a second US helicopter when suddenly, a missile streaked up from a nearby grove of trees. He said the Kiowa was blown into three distinct pieces, which then fell to the ground.

After the incident, American soldiers blocking a road leading to the crash site came under fire from a vehicle marked "press" in English, according to a military commander. No soldiers were wounded in the incident.

FMI: www.centcom.mil