Iraqi Military Helicopter Crash Kills 7 Crew Members 

Baghdad: Iraq's Defense Ministry says a military helicopter has crashed during a training exercise, killing all seven crew members on board.

The statement says the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed today in the central Wasit province. The cause of the accident was not immediately known. The province is located about 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, far from the front lines of the war with the Islamic State group.

US-backed Iraqi forces have driven the extremists from nearly all the territory they once controlled, with some fighting still underway near the western border with Syria.

IANS