Seven American soldiers killed in helicopter crash

Baghdad: Seven American soldiers were killed in southern Iraq on Thursday when their helicopter crashed as it was flying into the country from Kuwait, the US military said.

The military said the CH-47 Chinook helicopter did not come under attack, and that it believes the crash was an accident. "At this time we are uncertain of the cause, but hostile fire has been ruled out," military spokesman Major John Hall said.

"The other three helicopters in the flight did not have incident or injury." The four-helicopter convoy was flying from Kuwait to the US military base at Balad north of Baghdad.

It was the deadliest helicopter accident for US troops since a Black Hawk crash killed 14 soldiers in 2007.