A US Army Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in southern Iraq Wednesday, killing seven and wounding four others.

The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, with 11 US soldiers aboard, was downed by small-arms fire near Karbala, where the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division was in fierce fighting with Iraqi troops, local press reported, quoting Pentagon officials.

The four wounded US soldiers were rescued by US troops, officials said.

The Black Hawk, one of the US Army's main utility and troop transport helicopters, was the second US helicopter that was downed in the Iraqi war. An Apache helicopter was gunned down last week.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2003)