A US Apache helicopter crashed west of Baghdad on Tuesday after being hit by ground fire in the area, witnesses said.

  There were no immediate reports on the fate of the crew.

The helicopter's wreckage was seen near a village between the restive town of Fallujah and Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib, the witnesses said.

The US military made no immediate comment about the reported helicopter crash.

An other Apache was shot down by gunmen on Sunday in the nearby area, approximately five km west of Baghdad international airport,killing its two crew members.