BAGHDAD, Jan. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- A U.S. military helicopter crashed late on Saturday in northern Iraq, killing all 12 people aboard, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

    The UH-60 Blackhawk with eight passengers and four crew members on board crashed in an area some 12 km east of Tal Afar, the military said in a statement.

    The helicopter was flying within a team of two helicopters moving between U.S. military bases when the communications were lost, the military said.

    The U.S. troops immediately launched search and rescue operations in the area, some 400 km north of Baghdad, and investigation was under way. Enditem