Iraqi Army Helicopter Crash Kills Five

An Iraqi military helicopter lands near the al-Qaim border crossing between Syria and Iraq on November 1, 2018. (AFP)
An Iraqi military helicopter lands near the al-Qaim border crossing between Syria and Iraq on November 1, 2018. (AFP)
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Iraqi Army Helicopter Crash Kills Five

An Iraqi military helicopter lands near the al-Qaim border crossing between Syria and Iraq on November 1, 2018. (AFP)
An Iraqi military helicopter lands near the al-Qaim border crossing between Syria and Iraq on November 1, 2018. (AFP)

An Iraqi army helicopter crashed during a combat operation in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing all five crew members, the Iraqi military said in a statement.

The helicopter went down near the northern town of Amerli, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, said. It did not specify whether the helicopter crashed due to hostile fire or a technical malfunction.

Despite the defeat of ISIS in 2017, remnants of the group switched to hit-and-run attacks against government forces in different parts of Iraq.

Iraqi security forces have over the past months launched many operations in the area where the helicopter crashed to chase militants, military officials said.



UN Chief Says Situation in Gaza 'Appalling and Apocalyptic'

Palestinian girl Eman Al-Kholi, whose limb was amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her parents, looks on as she sits in a wheelchair at the European Hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 28, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh
Palestinian girl Eman Al-Kholi, whose limb was amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her parents, looks on as she sits in a wheelchair at the European Hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 28, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh
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UN Chief Says Situation in Gaza 'Appalling and Apocalyptic'

Palestinian girl Eman Al-Kholi, whose limb was amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her parents, looks on as she sits in a wheelchair at the European Hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 28, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh
Palestinian girl Eman Al-Kholi, whose limb was amputated after being wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her parents, looks on as she sits in a wheelchair at the European Hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 28, 2023. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh

The UN chief said on Monday the situation in Gaza is "appalling and apocalyptic", as he called for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas.

"The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity. The nightmare must stop,"UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in remarks read out by his deputy at a Cairo conference aimed to accelerate aid to the Gaza Strip.

"We cannot continue to look away," he stressed.

He also revealed cthat Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world.

"Gaza now has the highest number of children amputees per capita anywhere in the world —- many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anaesthesia."