February 08, 2007	Thursday	Muharram 19, 1428

BAGHDAD, Feb 7: All seven crew members and passengers aboard a US Marine helicopter were killed when it came down near Baghdad on Wednesday -- the fifth such aircraft to crash in Iraq in less than three weeks, the US military said.

The cause of the crash in Anbar province, heartland of the resistance, was under investigation. But witnesses reported seeing the Sea Knight transport helicopter in trouble during gunfire from the ground, and an Al Qaeda-linked group said its `air defence brigade’ had shot it down.

The four previous US helicopters were shot down. The US military, concerned that militants have changed tactics or are using more sophisticated weapons, said on Sunday it was adjusting its tactics.

Twenty-eight US servicemen and private security contractors have been killed in the five separate helicopter crashes in less than three weeks.

“We can confirm there were seven casualties. We are still looking into the cause of the aircraft going down,” US military spokeswoman Lt-Col Josslyn Aberle said.

A day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki ordered his military commanders to speed up preparations for a US-backed crackdown in Baghdad, the US military announced the operation had officially begun, but would be only rolled out gradually.

The crackdown, announced by Mr Maliki nearly a month ago, is regarded as a last-ditch attempt to prevent an all-out civil war.

US President George Bush has committed 17,500 more troops to the Baghdad push.

“The implementation of the prime minister’s plan has already begun and will be fully implemented at a later date, having all the parts and pieces he wants,” US military spokesman Maj-Gen William Caldwell told reporters in Baghdad.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh said preparations for the Baghdad offensive were still being worked out.

“There will be no sharp start for this operation,” he said.

`LAST CHANCE’: Gen Caldwell said US and Iraqi reinforcements were still arriving, adding the operation would take time to build up. He said an Iraqi general, Abboud Qanbar, would head the campaign.

US forces will not take orders from the Iraqis.

The new US military commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, a counter-insurgency expert, is expected to take command on Saturday. He will replace Gen George Casey, who had been sceptical of troop increases.

Gen Petraeus has asked for all extra forces to be deployed as quickly as possible.

There is growing frustration among Iraqis over the delay in launching the offensive, which Iraqi officials say was due to have started this week, but that Iraqi security forces had asked for more time to get their troops in place.

A wave of attacks have killed hundreds in recent days.

Iraq’s parliament speaker said the country faces serious consequences, including the collapse of its political system, if the plan in Baghdad fails.

“We hope the plan will work because it is considered the last chance for the US administration and the new political system in Iraq,” Mahmoud Mashhadani said.

“If it fails, then the US administration will fail in its political project and the political project in Iraq will disintegrate completely.”

Critics say a previous offensive last summer failed partly because too few Iraqi troops were involved.—Reuters