A U.S. military special operations helicopter crash in Iraq Thursday afternoon claimed the lives of all seven troops on board, a military official has confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
“There were no survivors,” the official said, in advance of a statement expected from Operation Inherent Resolve.
Trump said in a tweet that the sacrifice of the troops and their families “will never be forgotten.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the brave troops lost in the helicopter crash on the Iraq-Syria border yesterday. Their sacrifice in service to our country will never be forgotten.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2018
The special operations HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter went down after hitting a power line, according to the initial report from a second helicopter flying alongside the first.
“There are no signs of hostile fire,“ the official said, but cautioned there would be no official cause of the crash until an investigation was complete.
The second helicopter immediately radioed a report of the crash, and U.S. and Iraqi troops were able to secure the site within an hour, the official said.
The deaths were not immediately acknowledged by the U.S. military Thursday because of the “small community” of special operators in Iraq, which made it a priority to notify the families first.
Operation Inherent Resolve put out a statement later Friday morning.
“This tragedy reminds us of the risks our men and women face every day in service of our nations. We are thinking of the loved ones of these service members today,” said Brig. Gen. Jonathan Braga, director of operations for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. “We are grateful to the Iraqi Security Forces for their immediate assistance in response to this tragic incident.”
