Iraq aircraft crashes claim at least nine lives

An Iraqi Air Force aircraft crash killed four US Air Force staff and one Iraqi, the American military said today.

An Italian military helicopter has also crashed in Iraq, killing the four people on board, the Italian military has said.

The crash of the Iraqi Air Force aircraft happened at about noon on Monday in Diyala, a province north east of the capital, Baghdad, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Fred Wellman.

“All the personnel on board are confirmed to have been killed in action, but there is still an investigation ongoing,” Wellman said.

It was unclear what type of fixed-wing aircraft it was, who was in control of it nor why it crashed. Strong wind buffeted central and northern Iraq on Monday.

Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s air force all but disappeared during the 1991 Gulf War and efforts have only recently begun to rebuild the fleet.

In November, the United Arab Emirates delivered four six-seater Com Air 7SL aircraft, four Bell Jet Ranger Helicopters and several other planes. Three C-130E Hercules cargo planes were delivered from the US to the Iraqi Air Force in January.

The crash of the Italian military helicopter happened overnight about eight miles southeast of Nasiriyah, the southern Iraqi city where Italy’s 3,000 troops are based, the military said in a statement.

It was coming back from the Kuwaiti international airport and had stopped to refuel at Camp Buehring, also in Kuwait.

Radio contact was lost soon after take-off from the camp, the statement said. A rescue team found the wreckage early today in the desert close to the Tallill air base near Nasiriyah.

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