Decatur Daily -- FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — An Alabama soldier based at Fort Campbell was one of two killed in Iraq this week when their aircraft was shot down south of Baghdad, the Army said Wednesday.

Maj. Matthew W. Worrell, 34, of Lewisville, Texas, and Chief Warrant Officer Jamie D. Weeks, 47, of Daleville died Sunday in Yusufiyah, Iraq, when their helicopter went down during combat operations, the Army said.

A coalition of insurgent groups that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility in a statement posted on the Internet.

Both soldiers were assigned to the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the "Night Stalkers."

Weeks, a 26-year military veteran, was a helicopter pilot who tested and modified aircrafts, his sister, Brenda Parks of Ohio, told the Akron Beacon-Journal newspaper.

"I was born in the military, and this kind of thing is a reality for us," Parks told the paper.

Weeks' brother, Army Lt. Col. Joel Weeks, who is stationed in Afghanistan, will accompany the slain soldier to the United States, Parks said.

Worrell, who spent 11 years in the Army, served as a platoon leader for the special operations group after previously serving in the 101st Airborne Division, the Army said. Worrell's family, in a written statement, said he loved flying with the Night Stalkers and the family considers him a hero.

"He never doubted why he was there," the family said. "Matt died doing something he deeply believed in."

Col. Kevin Mangum, the commander of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, said the unit is "deeply saddened" by the deaths of Worrell and Weeks.

"They were warriors, heroes, fellow Night Stalkers ... and our friends," Mangum said in a written statement. "They will long be remembered."

Weeks is survived by his wife, Robin, and four daughters, of Adams, Tenn. Worrell is survived by his wife, Camille, and two children, of Clarksville, Tenn.

Including Worrell and Weeks, 149 soldiers from Fort Campbell have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003.