A U.S. helicopter that crashed Wednesday north of Baghdad was shot down, the military said, reversing its initial statement that the chopper made a «hard landing», according to The Assocaited Press. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said all the occupants were safely evacuated by a second helicopter. «I can confirm that initial reports indicate that it was brought down by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades,» Garver said, adding that the helicopter site had been secured and there were no reports of enemy contact. The statement came hours after the chief military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters that the Black Hawk helicopter had made a «hard landing.»
