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Miami Native Among 7 US Service Members Killed In Chopper Crash In Iraq

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MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) - Seven US service members were killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in western Iraq, a US military official said, including Carl Enis, originally from Miami.

Carl Enis
Carl Enis (Source: Facebook)

The crash did not appear to be the result of enemy activity, the official said, adding the crew of a second helicopter flying alongside did not report seeing signs of hostile fire when the helicopter went down.

The HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, a Black Hawk variant, went down near the town of Qaim in Ambar Province.

It was not on a combat mission when it crashed, CNN reported.

The US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash.

CARL ENIS
Carl Enis (Source: facebook.com/carl.enis1)

Coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga said the service members' names would be released after their relatives have been informed, however, friends of Staff Sgt. Carl Enis, a US Air Force pararescueman, have confirmed his death on social media.

Enis, 31, was a member of the 308th Rescue Squadron.

"I am speechless and I am heartbroken," wrote Dan Sherraden in a Facebook post. "One of our very best friends was killed in Iraq yesterday. Carl Enis was the most stable, genuine, selfless, and talented man I have ever known."

Enis graduated from Florida State University in 2004 and worked at a real estate company in Tallahassee which also expressed its condolences in a Facebook post.

"It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that TLG Real Estate mourns the loss of one of its outstanding Sales Associates, Carl Enis. Carl served our military proudly and, as a reservist, was recently deployed to the Middle East. We will miss him greatly and our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

 

President Trump offered condolences Friday to the families of those who died. "Their sacrifice in service to our country will never be forgotten, the president tweeted.

 

(©2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company, contributed to this report.)

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