Thirty-one marines have been killed in a helicopter crash in western Iraq, the US military has confirmed. It is the single worst loss of life for US forces since they invaded Iraq in March 2003.
The aircraft, carrying troops from the 1st Marine Division, came down in bad weather near the Jordanian border, Pentagon sources told the BBC.
Last month, 22 people, including 14 US soldiers died in a bomb at an army base in the northern city of Mosul.
The helicopter went down at about 0120 local time (2220 GMT Tuesday) near the town of Rutbah. Search and rescue teams were sent to the area.
The US military took several hours to release any details of the suspected cause of the crash or the number of casualties.
Several serious helicopter crashes have claimed American lives since the invasion of Iraq.
On 15 November 2003, 17 US soldiers were killed when two Black Hawks collided under fire over Mosul.
Just two weeks earlier a Chinook was shot down near Falluja, west of Baghdad, killing 16 US troops.
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