At least one US soldier has been killed and one wounded in a helicopter crash near the town of Falluja, west of Baghdad. A US military spokeswoman said on Friday the helicopter, an OH-58 observation chopper, came down around 12:50 p.m. (09:50 GMT) but had no further details. She said the cause of the crash was under investigation. "US forces began search operations this morning in Fallujah. They visited grain dealers searching for weapons. They were supported by two helicopters," said witness Waad Ibrahim. "I watched the two helicopters and suddenly I heard an explosion and one of the two planes caught fire before crashing." Farmer Ismail Jasim added: "Around 1:00 pm (1000 GMT), I saw one of the helicopters taking fire and it crashed behind the bridge on the Euphrates river west of Fallujah." Resistance fighters have shot down several US helicopters in recent months. In November they brought down three Black Hawk utility helicopters and a Chinook transporter, killing a total of 39 US soldiers. **Iraqi civilian killed*** Aljazeera correspondent in Iraq said that an Iraqi was killed and another was wounded on Friday when the US forces opened fire randomly at the car they were travelling in. The incident took place after a US convoy came under attack from an improvised explosive device near Ramadi, west of Iraq. Witnesses told our correspondent that the explosion left causalities among the US soldiers and set an oil-truck ablaze. As a result, the US forces sealed off the highway and launched a search operation. **'Smuggler' captured*** US forces on Friday arrested what they called a "foreigner" accused of smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq. The arrest took place in the Ramadi city of Rutba, near the Iraqi-Jordanian borders. "This afternoon at 12:35 am (09:35 GMT), elements of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment captured Abu Muhammad... a key facilitator operating in the al-Anbar province," the US military said in a statement. "He is believed to be responsible for moving foreign fighters and large sums of cash throughout the area of operations." Ten people referred to as "terrorists" by the US military were also captured in the same area. **PHOTO CAPTION*** An Iraqi Civil Defence Corps soldier keeps watch on a road opposite a mosque. (AFP/Jewel Samad)