British helicopter shot down in Iraq

BASRA - A British military helicopter has been brought down in the city of Basra, killing four people on board, Iraqi officials said, sparking clashes between troops and angry youths throwing petrol bombs.

Britain's government said "a number of" British military personnel were killed and said the cause was unclear. Police said a rocket hit the helicopter and firefighters said they found four charred bodies in the aircraft, which hit a house.

No one on the ground was hurt in the crash, police said.

Police and security sources said at least two Iraqis, and possibly up to five, were killed in confused hours of violence after youths at the crash site chanted victory slogans for the Mehdi Army, a Shi'ite militia opposed to the occupation.

British forces denied firing anything but plastic bullets.

"I can confirm the tragic deaths of a number of British service personnel," said Defence Secretary Des Browne, appointed only on Friday in a cabinet reshuffle.

As troops in Warrior armoured battle vehicles, some with riot shields, cordoned off the area, youths chanting "Victory to the Mehdi Army" threw rocks and petrol bombs. Soldiers used foam to douse fires ignited on their vehicles.

British military spokesman Squadron Leader Al Green said troops counted about 60 rounds fired in the air from the crowd -- not uncommon in Iraq -- and said no British shot was fired.

A local journalist said he was hit in the leg by a British baton round and saw troops aim their ordinary rifles. He said he saw at least one man dead. Witnesses said a second man may have died in a car, the windscreen of which was smashed and bloodied.

Several people, including children, were wounded when a mortar round later struck a house nearby, witnesses said.

Dominated by the Shi'ite Muslim majority now in control in Baghdad, Basra has seen less violence than cities in the north. However, friction between the occupying force and militia groups such as the Mehdi Army of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr does flare up.

British military sources confirmed ground fire seemed the likeliest explanation for the crash, near the local governor's office. The make of the helicopter was not clear.

Basra police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Kareem al-Zaidi said: "A Multi-National Forces helicopter was hit by a rocket."

Dozens have died when helicopters have been brought down in Iraq, many not by guided missiles, of which guerrillas have few, but by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. They tend to fly fast and low, to reduce the time attackers have to take aim.

- REUTERS