Arraf: A new phase in the conflict?
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CNN Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf
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FALLUJAH, Iraq (CNN) -- Fifteen U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday when their helicopter went down in Iraq. Witnesses said the aircraft was hit by a missile, but the U.S. military said the cause of the crash had not yet been determined. CNN Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf spoke from the scene, south of Fallujah.
ARRAF: Helicopters are continuing to circle this area, particularly the crash site where a Chinook helicopter came down at about 8:30 this morning, according to residents.
One witness told us that he saw a missile fired from as far away as one mile tracking that helicopter until it hit its target, and the helicopter exploded.
That would indicate it might have been a Stinger -- a heat-seeking missile. And there are plenty of those around.
And certainly there is a lot of support around for whoever launched this attack and the continuing attacks on U.S. soldiers in this area.
People here are telling us they did not like Saddam Hussein, they are happy he has gone, but they would be extremely happy if the Americans, who they see as occupying their country, were gone as well.
It is certainly not the first attack in the area -- Fallujah has been essentially a hotbed of attacks against American forces.
But this is the first one with what appears to be a heat-seeking missile, or a missile of any kind, downing an aircraft.
It could be, along with a recent wave of suicide bombings, a new phase in what is indisputably guerilla warfare.
