AKIPRESS.COM - A helicopter carrying American servicemembers crashed in western Iraq, the military said on Thursday, likely killing at least some of those on board, Washington Post reported.

“Rescue teams are responding to the scene of the downed aircraft at this time,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

The aircraft was ferrying troops from Iraq into Syria on a routine mission and went down around the town of Qaim along the Iraq-Syria border, according to a defense official who requested anonymity to describe an incident whose details are still emerging.

Seven people were believed to be on board at the time, and at least some of them were thought to have died, the official said.

In its statement, Centcom said the cause of the crash was not yet clear and that the incident would be investigated.

There are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria and about 5,000 in Iraq, according to public statements from the Pentagon.