US helicopter shot down in Iraq

The US uses the OH-58 Kiowa for surveillance missions

A US helicopter has crashed in Iraq, after coming under small arms fire, the US military has said.

Two helicopters were conducting operations near Baquba, 60km (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

Both were hit; one crashed and the other managed to land safely at a nearby airbase. Two soldiers died in the crash, the US military said.

The American military has secured the scene of the crash, US Central Command said in a statement.

The Pentagon said that it was an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter, a one-engined two-seater craft, which had been shot down.