US military helicopter crashes in Iraq

A United States military helicopter, carrying seven passengers, has "gone down" in western Iraq near the Syria border.

The CNN quoted the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) in Syria as saying, "A US military aircraft has crashed in western Iraq with US service members aboard."

One US defence official said that casualties were likely and that rescue teams were on the scene in under an hour.

The US military HH-60, a Black Hawk variant helicopter, was not on a combat mission, according to the officials.

"Rescue teams are responding to the scene of the downed aircraft at this time. Further details will be released when available. An investigation will be initiated to determine the cause of the incident," the officials said.