British helicopter crashes in southern Iraq

A British military helicopter crashed in a residential area of southern Iraq today, police said.

The British military’s office in Basra said it had lost contact with a helicopter, but could not immediately confirm that it had crashed.

Police Capt. Mushtaq Khazim said the helicopter crashed into a house in Basra. He said he believed the aircraft had been hit by a missile or a rocket, and that the crew had not survived.

But he said he didn’t know how many people were aboard the aircraft or whether Iraqis had been hurt in or near the house the helicopter struck.

State-run al-Iraqiya television showed what it described as live footage from the crash site showing black smoke rising from a two-story house and British soldiers sealing off the area.