2 killed as State Department security helicopter crashes outside Baghdad

State Dept. security chopper crashes in Iraq

WASHINGTON — The State Department says a helicopter used to protect U.S. diplomats in Baghdad has crashed outside the Iraqi capital and a U.S. official says that two crew members were killed.

Department spokesman Robert Wood said the MD-530 chopper went down during a training mission about 30 miles outside Baghdad on Friday. The cause is under investigation. An official with the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said two crew members were killed and two others seriously injured in the crash.

Wood said he could not comment on the survivors’ condition due to privacy concerns.

The State Department contracts with Presidential Airways, a subsidiary of XE, formerly known as Blackwater, for air support to protect diplomatic convoys in Baghdad.

Associated Press Writer Chris Torchia in Baghdad contributed to this report.