Fourteen US soldiers were killed on Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in northern Iraq, the US military said.

The military said in a statement that the 14 soldiers, assigned to Task Force Lightning, died when the Black Hawk helicopter they were riding went down in northern Iraq on Wednesday.

The helicopter was carrying four crew members and 10 soldiers when it went down during a nighttime operation in northern Iraq, said the statement.

The statement also said that initial indications showed the chopper was suffering a mechanical problem and there was no indication of hostile fire.

It was one of the single deadliest incidents for the US military since its invasion into Iraq in March of 2003.

The latest death brings the number of US soldiers who have been killed in Iraq to about 3,720 since the Iraq war broke out in 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2007)