Two Black Hawks down in Baghdad

An Iraqi soldier was killed when two US helicopters collided while landing at a base in northern Baghdad, the American military says.

A military spokesman said two American troops and two other Iraqi soldiers were wounded when the Black Hawks crashed on Saturday evening.

He said the crash did not appear to have been caused by hostile fire.

But Baghdad police said a US helicopter was downed by gunfire and there was fighting in the area after it crashed.

The police said the fighting was between local militias and American and Iraqi forces.

A freelance cameraman in Baghdad used by the BBC said he was in the area when a helicopter went down.

He told the BBC he heard an unusual sound from a helicopter and when he turned to look saw it crashing with flames and smoke coming from its engine.

The US military said it had no information about the clashes or a helicopter being shot down.

"Two UH-60 Black Hawks have crashed while landing at Combat Outpost Ford in (the Baghdad district of) Adhamiya about 2055 Baghdad time (1755 GMT) this evening," said US military spokesman Lt Patrick Evans.

He said emergency services were on the scene and that the situation was under control.