A U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter lands at the air base in Tirana, Albania RELATED VIDEO British officials vow to stand firm in NATO bombing campaign. CNN's Margaret Lowrie has the story. (May 4) Windows Media 28K 80K A Muslim country is helping build a refugee camp in Albania. Because the country is the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, the site is being called the "Hilton of camps." CNN's Jane Arraf checks it out. (May 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K The U.N. says the Serbs have started a new ethnic-cleansing tactic: deporting one family member so others will follow. CNN's Nic Robertson talks with a family about their experience. (May 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Kosovo, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K IMAGE GALLERY Latest from Kosovo The Kosovo refugees The Serbs and Kosovo  ALSO: U.S. helicopter crew killed in crash in Albania Clinton rallies troops, ponders prisoner release Chernomyrdin calls for greater U.N. role in Kosovo diplomacy  THE DELUGE OF REFUGEES: Where are they going?  CNN WORLD REPORT CONFERENCE: Follow CNN's 1999 World Report Conference this week in Atlanta and New York  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo  MAPS: NATO officials describe the air campaign  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: NATO at 50 Strike on Yugoslavia

May 5, 1999
Web posted at: 9:15 a.m. EDT (1315 GMT)

In this story: Wednesday attacks Diplomatic efforts ongoing RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- Two American soldiers were killed early Wednesday when their U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter crashed on a training mission in Albania. The fatalities were NATO's first during the Yugoslavia campaign.

NATO Supreme Commander Gen. Wesley Clark said there was "no indication of hostile fire" and that the cause of the crash was under investigation.

The chopper was the second Apache to crash since 24 of the aircraft were dispatched to Albania last month. So far the Apaches -- generally used in low-level night flying to target tanks -- have not been deployed in attacks on Yugoslavia.

The other Apache crash was during a training mission in Albania on April 26. The two crewmen were not injured.

NATO has also lost an F-117 stealth fighter and an F-16 over Serbia and a Harrier jump jet that crashed into the Adriatic Sea while returning to its amphibious assault carrier. The pilots of all those aircraft were recovered safely.

Meanwhile, Operation Allied Force continued over Yugoslavia, where NATO attacks targeted more command-and-control sites, bridges and fuel stores, said spokesman Jamie Shea.

According to Yugoslav National Radio, several areas were bombarded by NATO overnight. Several areas around Belgrade were struck, including the military airport of Batajnica, the radio said. Several explosions were heard throughout Belgrade.

The Ladjevci area, near the town of Kraljevo, was hit by "several" missiles, the radio said. That area has been bombed several times before. The Krusik factory in Valjevo was hit with three missiles, allegedly leaving two wounded.

The town of Vranje was hit with four missiles. The radio says "substantial" damage was inflicted to the town. And Kosovo's capital of Pristina was also attacked, with missiles hitting the areas of Golas and the Slatina military airport.

NATO officials repeated their contention that the campaign to force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to accept an international peace plan for Kosovo was working well.

"(Serb forces) are now essentially avoiding NATO power," Clark said at a news briefing Wednesday in Brussels. "They are limiting their movement, they are limiting their activities. They are limiting their resupply, they are trying to do everything they can to reduce their vulnerability, because when they are seen, they are hit, and when they are hit, they are killed."

But, Clark said, ethnic cleansing continues, increasingly perpetrated by paramilitary forces on the ground in Kosovo.

NATO began its bombing campaign on March 24 after Milosevic rejected the peace plan hammered out in talks in Rambouillet, France. That plan would have called for an international peacekeeping force to enforce its terms, but Milosevic refuses to accept such a force from NATO.

NATO is continuing its attacks on Yugoslavia amid diplomatic efforts to end the war

Former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin has been shuttling between Belgrade and Western capitals trying to iron out an agreement between Yugoslavia and NATO. NATO has repeatedly said its bombing campaign would not end until Milosevic agrees to its terms, which include the international force protecting the return to Kosovo of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees.

Russia opposes the use of force against the Serbs.

On Tuesday, Chernomyrdin flew to Washington, where he met with President Bill Clinton and other officials. The U.S. officials were non-committal about the results of the talks, but Chernomyrdin was optimistic that an agreement might be near.

Hopes were raised earlier in the week when Milosevic released three American prisoners of war to U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. The three had been held for more than a month after being captured near the Macedonia border.

In the wake of that release, Clinton ordered Defense Secretary William Cohen to review the status of two Yugoslav prisoners held by NATO.

Cohen said Wednesday he expects a report -- and a decision on the possible release -- shortly.

Clinton is in Europe for meetings with NATO leaders in Brussels and U.S. troops in Germany.

And on Thursday, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations plan a meeting in Germany, where they will reportedly issue a joint statement on the principles for a political settlement of the Kosovo crisis.

Their statement, calling for an international military peacekeeping force, is expected to be a prelude to a U.N. resolution on the terms for peace.

Russia will join with the G-7 nations in the agreement, diplomats said.

Correspondents John Raedler, Brent Sadler and Rusty Dornin contributed to this report.

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