Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Friday that it shot down a US attack helicopter that crashed, killing two Marines, and a US general said witnesses saw the aircraft take ground fire and break up in the air.
Another US soldier died Thursday in a roadside bombing northeast of Baghdad, the US military said.
The AH-1W Super Cobra crashed Wednesday near Ramadi during daylong fighting in the insurgent stronghold 70 miles west of Baghdad. In addition to the two crewmen, an American lieutenant died when a bomb exploded as he was rushing to the crash site.