In Iraq, the death toll in Thursday’s U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crash near Fallujah has risen to nine. The Pentagon has so far declined to say what caused the attack but witnesses reportedly said the helicopter was hit by a missile. Also yesterday, a military transport plane carrying 60 people was forced to land in Baghdad after it was hit with a surface-to-air missile. Also in Baghdad today, a hotel [the Bourj al-Hayat] that houses foreign companies came under attack by rocket propelled grenades.