US military helicopter shot down in Iraq

Two pilots were rescued with minor injuries after insurgents shot down a US military helicopter south of Baghdad, the military said in Iraq today.

The OH-58D Kiowa Attack helicopter was brought down by ground fire yesterday.

After an Apache helicopter rescued the two pilots, a US warplane dropped two 500-pound, laser-guided bombs on the downed craft to destroy it, the military said in a statement.

It gave no further details on the location of the crash and said the incident was under investigation.