Militants shoot down Iraqi helicopter and occupy northern town

A member of the Iraqi security forces patrols with his weapon in Sulaiman Pek, 160 km (99 miles) north of Baghdad, February 21, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Adnan

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Militants shot down a helicopter on Saturday and briefly occupied a town, in an escalating turf war with Iraq's government that has killed at least 25 people in two days, police said.

All four crew members were killed when their helicopter was downed during a reconnaissance flight over the town of Karma in Iraq's western province of Anbar, where the army is engaged in a standoff with anti-government fighters.