U.S. State Dept helicopter crashes in Iraq, two dead

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A helicopter contracted to the U.S. State Department crashed near Baghdad, killing two crew members and injuring two other people on board, the U.S. embassy said on Saturday.

The helicopter went down on Friday on the Butler Range Complex, a U.S. military training ground just east of Baghdad, it said.

"The crash of the helicopter is under investigation by the Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service," spokesman Armand Cucciniello said in an email.

Air crashes are common in Iraq, where the U.S. military flies dozens of helicopters daily for use as armed cover and to ferry its troops to and from various bases.

(Reporting by Tim Cocks; editing by Andrew Dobbie)