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Sources: Missile downed Black Hawk

Red Cross temporarily pulls out of Baghdad

Helicopter
A U.S. helicopter flies near the site of Friday's Black Hawk crash.

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TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) -- Military sources say they believe a Soviet-built surface-to-air missile brought down a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, killing all six aboard.

Friday's deadly crash added to a bloody week for the coalition. Thirty-seven U.S. troops and one Polish soldier died in Iraq in the first week of November alone.

Sources with the 4th Infantry Division told CNN they suspect a Soviet-built Kolomna KBM Strela-3 low-altitude surface-to-air missile hit the helicopter, using an infrared guidance system.

Earlier, U.S. military officials had ruled out the use of SAMs in the crash but had not discounted the Black Hawk went down as a result of hostile fire.

"We do believe it was brought down by ground fire," said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment.

Only one of the 37 Americans who died during the week was killed in a non-hostile incident. The military has confirmed that all other deaths were caused by coalition enemies.

The latest coalition deaths occurred Saturday, when three U.S. soldiers were killed in two separate vehicle attacks.

Two soldiers were killed when their vehicle ran over a homemade bomb on a main highway west of Fallujah about 8:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. EST) near the village of Sichir, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

A third soldier was killed Saturday night when an improvised explosive device hit a mounted convoy in Baghdad's al-Wehda district about 7:45 p.m. (11:45 a.m. EST).

Meanwhile Saturday, U.S. forces attacked targets in the Tikrit area in what they called a "show of force."

Two F-16s fighter planes flew low over the marshy region and dropped at least two 500-pound bombs near the crash site north of Baghdad. (On the Scene: Nic Robertson)

U.S. forces also used Apache attack helicopters, Bradley fighting vehicles, M1A1 Abrams tanks and close air support, said coalition spokesperson Maj. Josslyn Aberle.

Coalition forces were firing dozens of artillery shells, mortars and howitzers into the area, starting late Friday and continuing early Saturday.

The Black Hawk crash came a day after a memorial service for 16 soldiers killed when their Army CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter was downed last Sunday by what was believed to have been a missile. (Full story)

Red Cross pulls out

The International Red Cross said Saturday it is temporarily closing its Baghdad and Basra offices because of "extremely dangerous" conditions in Iraq, said Florian Westphal, a Red Cross spokesman in Geneva.

"We remain determined to remain active in Iraq," Westphal said, adding the agency would monitor the security situation "day-by-day."

The Red Cross reduced its international staff last month after two staff members and 10 other people were killed in an October 27 car bomb attack on its Baghdad offices.

After that attack, the agency asked its staff members if they wanted to stay in Iraq under the current conditions.

The Red Cross had a staff of 30 international workers and 600 Iraqis before the October attack.

With the latest attacks, 270 U.S. troops have been killed by hostile fire since the war began. Since May 1, when President Bush said major combat was over, 155 U.S. soldiers have been killed by hostile fire.

There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures, either during the period of major combat or after May 1.

The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said that the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher.

In other developments:

• Iraqi and coalition forces Saturday arrested a person they said they think is one of Saddam's former bodyguards. The coalition conducted the early morning raid south of Kirkuk after receiving information that the suspect was involved in recent anti-coalition attacks.

• The U.S. military Saturday captured 12 people in Iraq suspected of being involved in an attack on a Baghdad hotel that killed one U.S. soldier and wounded 15 people last month. (Full story)

• Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Saturday the United States in Iraq is walking a fine line between liberator and occupier. (Full story)

CNN's Dana Bash, Jamie McIntyre, Nic Robertson, Matthew Chance, Pelin Sidki and Barbara Starr contributed to this report


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