An investigation is underway into the cause of a crash of a British military transport plane in Iraq which killed 10 people, in Britain's biggest single loss of life since the invasion of Iraq. Here a floral tribute outside the gates to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire(AFP/Martyn Hayhow)
Investigation underway into deadly British plane crash in Iraq
LONDON (AFP) - An investigation is underway into the cause of a crash of a British military transport plane in Iraq which killed 10 people, in Britain's biggest single loss of life since the invasion of Iraq.
British officials have so far declined to comment on the cause, or on claims made by an Al-Qaeda linked extremist group that it shot down the RAF C-130 Hercules on Sunday northwest of Baghdad.
On Monday Ansar al-Islam, an Al-Qaeda linked extremist group, posted a statement on an Islamist website claiming it downed the plane.
US defence officials have noted there was some indication of ground fire at the time of the crash, but did not say the plane was downed by hostile fire.
"There are some indications of some ground fire but nobody is in a position to confirm" the cause, said a senior defence official, who asked not to be identified.
A second defence official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were early reports of small arms fire when the RAF C-130 aircraft went down, and added the cause was under investigation.
British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said in a statement, "we are aware of reports that the aircraft may have been shot down, but we are not in a position to come to any conclusions until the investigation is complete."
Hoon said nine Royal Air Force personnel and one soldier are missing, believed dead, following the crash.
The Ministry of Defence said earlier a "thorough investigation" into the cause of the crash had begun.
Al-Jazeera television aired a video purporting to show the downing of the plane, saying the footage was filmed by the "Islamic National Resistance in Iraq," the second group to claim to have shot down the plane.
The footage showed a finger pressing a button, purportedly launching a rocket seen in the video, followed by a fireball and wreckage of what was alleged to be the plane.
On Tuesday the British tabloid Sun newspaper, citing sources at the defence ministry, said, however, it had been told investigators were looking into whether a bomb had been placed in the plane itself, as the craft was flying too high to be hit by a missile.
"It is clear the C-130 exploded in mid-air and shattered into thousands of pieces," the source told the paper.
"A bomb could have been planted on the plane when it refuelled in Baghdad and stopped to collect passengers and cargo."
An officer with the US-led military coalition in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plane had been heading to Balad, 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of Baghdad.
Balad houses one of the largest US airbases in Iraq and has two runways, according to Britain's Press Association news wire.
Air Vice-Marshall Tony Mason, a military expert, said the crash, which occurred during a spate of attacks aimed at sabotaging the first democratic elections in Iraq for 50 years, could have been caused by "hostile action.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the BBC on Monday that the crash resulted in "the largest single loss of British service lives" since Britain joined the US-led invasion of Iraq nearly two years ago.
The previous largest single loss of British lives was when eight soldiers were killed in a helicopter accident on March 21, 2003. Prior to the crash 76 British troops had lost their lives in Iraq in combat or accidents.
Britain currently has about 8,700 troops in Iraq