An aircraft owned and operated by the United States has crashed in western Iraq with personnel aboard, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday.
« A US military aircraft has crashed in Western Iraq with US service members aboard, » CENTCOM said in a statement.
« Rescue teams are responding to the scene of the downed aircraft at this time, » the military statement noted. The reason for the aircraft’s downing are unknown at this time, but « an investigation will be initiated to determine the cause of the incident, » the military said.
According to several reports, the downed aircraft is an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter. Just last month, US Air Force Central Command announced the that the US would be sending A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to support US President Donald Trump’s South Asia strategy and for ongoing operations in Afghanistan.
More details to follow.
