A US military helicopter crashed in Iraq Thursday after coming under small arms fire near the city of Baqubah, the US military said.

Two U.S. soldiers were killed when their helicopter went down near Baqubah, 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, according CNN report.

Their OH-58 Kiowa chopper was flying alongside a second helicopter when they received small arms fire from the ground. The second chopper managed to get to a coalition base safely, but was damaged, the military said.

The shootdown came on the day Iraqi ministers announced a new security plan for Baghdad to fight the insurgency.

Source: Xinhua/Agencies