Apache Shot Down in Iraq

[The Kernel]

Aparently, an American Apache helicopter has crashed in Iraq according to the AP. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say it was shot down considering it crashed just outside of Fallujah. Details forthcoming.

[The Kernel]

UPDATE:Yahoo News

FALLUJAH, Iraq - A U.S. Apache helicopter crashed and burned Tuesday outside Fallujah after witnesses said it was hit by a rocket. In the south, hundreds of U.S. troops converging on Najaf for a showdown with a radical Shiite cleric came under an ambush that killed one soldier.

There was no immediate word on casualties from the crash of the helicopter, which an Associated Press reporter saw burning 12 miles east of Fallujah in the village of Zawbaa. Witnesses said they saw a rocket hit the craft.

U.S. troops who converged on the site were attacked by gunmen, the reporter said. Witnesses said four U.S. soldiers were hit.

While Fallujah has been relatively calm for four days, the area between the besieged city and Baghdad has seen heavy clashes between gunmen and U.S. forces. Insurgents shot down another Apache on Sunday in nearby Abu Ghraib, killing its two crewmembers.

[Vympel]

That's the second Apache lost in days. Given the circumstances of the report, the crew are, again, probably dead.

Possibly an Igla-1.

Oh, and the generals have asked for 10,000 more troops (roughly 2 brigades).