A Sea Knight helicopter operated by Marines crashed on Wednesday northwest of Baghdad, killing all seven people on board, the fifth chopper lost in Iraq in just over two weeks. An Iraqi air force officer said it was downed by an anti-aircraft missile and an al-Qaeda-linked Sunni group claimed responsibility for the downing. Witnesses also said it had been shot down. US forces sealed off the area and helicopters buzzed overhead as flames and a huge plume of black smoke billowed from the wreckage in an open field. Meanwhile, the long-awaited Baghdad security operation has begun, said US military spokesman Maj Gen William Caldwell, adding it was “ongoing as we speak.” The military also announced a Marine was killed on Tuesday in fighting in Anbar province.
