Iraqi army helicopter crash kills five

An Iraqi army helicopter crashed during a combat operation in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing all five crew members, the Iraqi military said in a statement.

The helicopter went down near the northern town of Amerli, 170 km north of Baghdad.

It wasn't clear if the helicopter crashed due to hostile fire or a technical malfunction.

Despite the defeat of the IS militant group in 2017, remnants of the group switched to hit-and-run attacks against government forces in different parts of Iraq.

Iraqi security forces have over the past months launched many operations in the area where the helicopter crashed to chase militants, military officials said.