Iraqi army helicopter crash kills nine

Two pilots and seven army officers were killed in the incident, says official

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi army helicopter crashed due to a technical malfunction during a routine flight on Tuesday, killing all nine crew members, a military spokesperson said.

The helicopter went down near the southern province of Kut, joint operations spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told Reuters, saying two pilots and seven army officers were killed.



Police in the southern province of Kut said officers accompanied an army patrol to the crash site in a desert area around 60 km (40 miles) northeast of the province to retrieve the bodies.

Iraq is slowly rebuilding its air force, once one of the world's largest, after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.