Basra, Mar 29, (VOI)- An Iraqi copter was shot down by Gunmen’s fire late on Friday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, eyewitnesses said. “An Iraqi copter went down last night when Mahdi army gunmen fired at it near the Military Hospital in northern Basra,” an eyewitness told Asawt al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI).
Another eyewitness said that the copter was shot down in an area witnessing “fierce battles” between security forces and Mahdi army militia. So far the was no word available from Iraqi military on the incident.
From last Monday, Basra, 590 km south of Baghdad, has been a scene of fight between Iraqi security forces and fighters from the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi army. The operation is being overseen by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
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