An Italian military helicopter has crashed near Iraq's southeastern city of Nassiriya, killing four Italians aboard, the Italian military said Tuesday.

The AB-412 helicopter crashed overnight about 13 km southeast of Nassiriya, where Italy's 3,000 troops are based, the military said in a statement.

The military said it was investigating the cause of the crash.

According to the statement, the helicopter was returning from the Kuwaiti international airport and had stopped to refuel at Kuwait's Camp Buehring. But radio contact was lost soon after the helicopter took off from the camp. At dawn, a rescue team found the wreckage in the desert near Nassiriya.

Tuesday's deaths bring the number of Italian troops killed in Iraq to 24.

Source: Xinhua