26/10/2003, 0019hrs SGT---breaking news. BLACK HAWK DOWN! we have a black hawk down!

Saturday, October 25, 2003 Posted: 1606 GMT (12:06 AM HKT)



"(CNN) -- A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter went down east of Tikrit on Saturday evening, and the crew was fired on by attackers with rocket propelled grenades once it was on the ground, a coalition military spokesman said.

Five people were injured and evacuated safely, the spokesman said, adding that he did not know the severity of the injuries. It was not immediately known whether the troops were hurt when the helicopter went down, or in the grenade attack, he said.

The helicopter went down "due to reasons presently unknown," the spokesman said.

Earlier, three U.S. soldiers were wounded in Baghdad by an explosion that Army experts believe was caused by a mortar round. None of the wounds appeared to be life-threatening, the spokesman said.

Elsewhere in the city, coalition forces reopened a major bridge across the Tigris River to commercial traffic for the first time since the fall of Baghdad.

The bridge is one of the main routes linking the east and west sections of the city. Coalition forces closed it because they were concerned that it could be used to stage attacks on U.S. troops based nearby at Saddam Hussein's former palace.

The closed bridge caused traffic jams as vehicles had to drive around the city to get across the river.

Coalition authorities also plan to lift the curfew on the city overnight." ---- CNN.com