US Marine Corps helicopter has crashed in western Iraq killing 31 people, military officials said.
The military said in a statement on Wednesday: "A US Marine Corps transport helicopter crashed on 26 January at approximately 1.20am (2220 GMT Tuesday) near al-Rutbah while conducting security and stabilisation operations."

The marines declined to provide the cause of the crash.

It said a search-and-rescue operation was under way. The statement said casualties would be confirmed later.

In a separate incident, four US marines were killed in the western province of Al-Anbar on Wednesday, the military said in a statement.
If confirmed, the single-day number of US fatalities would reach 35, bringing to 1416 the number of US military personnel killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.

The crash came as US-led forces, Iraqi national guardsmen, interim government offices and other election targets were hit around the country.