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As fighting continued throughout central Iraq, two U.S. Marines were killed in a helicopter gunship crash Saturday, U.S. Central Command reported. |
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"Two Marine pilots were killed in the crash of their AH-1W "Super Cobra" attack helicopter in central Iraq at approximately 12:19 a.m Saturday morning (8:19 a.m. Iraq time)," Central Command said in a statement. "Preliminary indications are that the crash was not a result of hostile fire. The cause of the crash is under investigation." U.S. authorities said they would not release the names of those killed until their next-of-kin had been notified.The heavily armored, two-seat Super Cobra is used to attack tanks and ground targets and used to aid U.S. forces."The Marines depend on attack helicopters to provide close-in fire support coordination in serial and ground escort operations," a Federation of American Scientist Web site on the Cobra said.The helicopter is also built to withstand small arms fire and other gunfire from the ground. |
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April 5, 2003, 8:11am EST
