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7 service members die in crash

BAGHDAD (AP) — All seven service members aboard a U.S. helicopter that crashed in Iraq were killed, the Pentagon said Friday in a written statement.

The aircraft crashed in western Iraq a day earlier, said the officials, who insisted on speaking anonymously to release details of the crash before they were made public.

The crash did not appear to be the result of enemy activity and is under investigation, the Pentagon said.

“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 U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga, director of operations in the fight against the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria.

The helicopter was used by the Air Force for combat search and rescue and was shifting from one location to another when it went down Thursday afternoon near the town of Qaim in Anbar Province.

The names of those killed would be released after next of kin are notified, the statement added.

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