Civilian helicopter said crashed in Baghdad

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L233714.htm

BAGHDAD, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Tuesday reports that a helicopter had gone down in central Baghdad appeared to refer to a civilian aircraft.

"No coalition forces aircraft are reported as down. Coalition forces are investigating what appears to be a crashed civilian aircraft," a U.S. statement said, responding to a query on reports of a crashed helicopter.

Some private security firms use helicopters to guard civilian convoys and personnel in Iraq.

Residents in central Baghdad told Reuters earlier they saw a helicopter come down and some said it had been shot first -- there were differing accounts of whether it crashed or made an emergency landing. One resident said he saw four bodies in the wreckage though there was no immediate confirmation of that.