BY MITCHELL PROTHERO AND JONATHAN S. LANDAY
January 14, 2005 - An Apache Longbow helicopter gunship flies over Baghdad, Iraq.
HANDOUT — MCT
IRBIL, IRAQ — The United States sent attack helicopters into combat against Islamic State targets west of Baghdad on Sunday, the first time low-flying Army aircraft have been committed to fighting in an engagement that the Obama administration has promised would not include "boots on the ground."
The U.S. Central Command, in a statement about U.S. activities against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, provided few specifics about the helicopters. But they were likely AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, which were deployed to Baghdad International Airport in June to provide protection for U.S. military and diplomatic facilities.
