US says checking reports helicopter down in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Feb 7 (Reuters) The US military said today it was checking reports that a Chinook transport helicopter might have come down near Baghdad.

Two witnesses in the area, just north of Baghdad, told Reuters they saw a Chinook helicopter come down amid gunfire from the ground. They said it was unclear if the helicopter had crashed or made an emergency landing.

Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said he could not confirm the reports but officials were checking the information.

REUTERS AB ND1530