Iraqis shoot down US helicopter

IRAQI forces shot down a US helicopter gunship in western Iraq yesterday, just hours after US fighter jets bombed what they said was “a terrorist training camp” in central Iraq.

The incidents came as US ground troops wound up a massive sweep in a Sunni Muslim enclave north of Baghdad, aimed at rooting out the organisers of attacks on occupation forces. Yesterday’s events marked a sharp escalation of US military operations in central and western Iraq, where guerrillas have intensified attacks on US troops in recent weeks.

“It’s one of the largest operations since the war,” US Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Ryan Fitzgerald said.