Soldier was executed after falling from helicopter

US military officials have revealed a soldier who fell out of a Chinook helicopter was later executed by al-Qaida fighters.

Petty Officer Neil C Roberts, 32, of Woodland, California, was based in Norfolk, Virginia, with a Navy SEAL unit.

US officials said when the helicopter was hit, it rapidly took off and landed a short distance away with hydraulic failure from the attack. The crew then discovered one of its men had apparently fallen out.

Commanders then watched real-time images from an unmanned Predator drone that showed al-Qaida members capture and kill the officer.

"We saw him on the Predator being dragged off by three al-Qaida men," said Major General Frank L. Hagenbeck, the operation commander.

Three hours later, a second Chinook was trying to land forces in the same area when it was hit by machine-gun fire and a rocket-propelled grenade.

The helicopter was forced down, and a gunbattle took place in which six US soldiers were killed.

When members of that helicopter were evacuated, the body of the soldier who fell from the first was found.