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U.K. helicopter downed by rocket fire in Iraq

BAGHDAD: A British helicopter crashed on Saturday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a British military spokeswoman said.

``I can confirm that the incident has occurred, but have no other details to offer at the moment,'' she said.

Earlier, a policeman from Basra said ``a helicopter crashed after being hit by a rocket in a residential area in the centre of Basra.''

Iraqi officers killed

The Ministry of Defence in London said: ``We can confirm that an incident has taken place involving a helicopter. We cannot give any further detail at this stage while the investigation is ongoing.''

In other incidents, a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi army uniform blew himself up on Saturday inside an Iraqi military base in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, killing at least three Iraqi officers. A U.S. soldier also died in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad.

The suicide attack at the Iraqi base in western Tikrit killed a lieutenant colonel, a major and a lieutenant, and wounded a lieutenant colonel, said Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed Jassim, a spokesman for Iraq's Defence Ministry.

The bomber targeted a group of Iraqi army recruits who had just finished their training and were being dispatched to another area of Iraq. Officials in Tikrit said the bomber apparently told guards that he wanted to see one of the officers and was admitted to the base without being searched.

The attack in the Sunni Arab city 130 km north of Baghdad appeared to be part of a campaign by Sunni-led militants to discourage Sunnis from joining Iraqi security forces.

AP

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