Islamic State group downs Iraqi attack helicopter

BAGHDAD (AP) — Islamic State group militants armed with a rocket launcher shot down an Iraqi military attack helicopter Friday, killing two pilots and raising new worries about their ability to attack aircraft amid ongoing U.S.-led airstrikes.

The Mi-35 helicopter crashed outside the town of Beiji, 200 kilometers (130 miles) north of Baghdad and home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery, authorities said. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told state-run Iraqiyya TV that the crash killed the helicopter’s two pilots and that authorities had begun an investigation.