Black Hawk down north of Baghdad - US military

BAGHDAD, Feb 21 (Reuters) A US Black Hawk helicopter with nine people on board went down north of Baghdad today, the military said.

A statement from the US military said all nine were evacuated and there were no serious injuries. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Iraqi police captain Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said he saw some type of projectile hitting the helicopter before it came down in a rural area known as the Line, 30 kilometres north of Baghdad.

''I saw a ball of fire hitting the aircraft and smoke coming out of the helicopter as it came down,'' Mashhadani told Reuters.

Major-General William Caldwell, the chief US military spokesman, told a news conference the helicopter had made a ''hard landing'', without giving more detail.

Insurgents have shot down seven helicopters in Iraq since January 20, killing 28 people, mainly American soldiers. Five of those helicopters were US military aircraft and two belonged to a private American security company.

The incidents have questions about whether insurgents are using new tactics, such as studying aircraft flight patterns, or have acquired sophisticated weaponry.

US commanders have said one reason they believe insurgents had focused on helicopters was to try to undermine a security crackdown in Baghdad that began last week.

REUTERS AB RN2314