US pilots missing after Iraq helicopter crash

Two pilots were missing today after a US military helicopter crashed in the Tigris River in the town of Mosul while searching for a soldier.

A US spokeswoman did not say what caused the crash of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter, attached to the 101st Airborne Division.

She said the helicopter was involved in a search and rescue mission for a US soldier reported missing when the boat he was in capsized earlier today.

The soldier was on a river patrol with three others and some Iraqi policemen.

The other three soldiers were safe but two Iraqi police officers and an Iraqi translator are reported dead, said the spokeswoman.

A search for the two pilots is underway.