KUWAIT: US forces training in Kuwait were left contemplating the emotive phrase "Black Hawk down" when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed near the border with Iraq early yesterday, killing all four crew members.
It was the highest death toll from incidents involving the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter since the loss of 19 US soldiers on peacekeeping duties in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993, which was later the subject of a book and film.
Unlike the infamous crash in Somalia, however, when Somali militia succeeded in shooting down two Black Hawk helicopters that were part of a US-led effort to help secure deliveries of food aid, the latest incident has been attributed to adverse weather conditions during a night-time training mission. A spokesman for the US military in Kuwait said: "There is no indication that hostile fire might have caused the crash. Our thoughts go out to the families of those who have died in what appears to have been a tragic accident." The soldiers' names have not been released until next of kin have been informed, and an investigation has been launched.
Some 80,000 US troops training in the Kuwaiti desert - with the number set to reach 150,000 by early March - have been beset by training accidents in recent weeks.
Three soldiers have been killed and eight others injured as tensions in the region continue to rise ahead of war against Iraq.
A US official said: "Regrettable though it is, accidents are always going to happen when you have so many troops involved in high-intensity training exercises. It is part of the job and we remain focused on whatever task the American President calls on us to do," he added.