
WASHINGTON — Two soldiers assigned to Fort Hood were killed when their helicopter went down in Iraq, the Defense Department said.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Keith Yoakum, 41, of Hemet, Calif., and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason G. Defrenn, 34, of Barnwell, S.C., died Feb. 2, the military confirmed late Feb. 6.
Both soldiers were aboard an Apache helicopter that was forced to land during combat operations in Taji, an air base 12 miles north of the Iraqi capital. The al-Qaida-affiliated group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed to have brought down the helicopter, which crashed in a hail of gunfire north of Baghdad.
The two soldiers were assigned to the 1st...