Secrecy about Iraqi plane crash
2005-01-30 22:47
Baghdad - Prime Minister Toni Blair has confirmed that there were deaths when a British C-130 military transport plane crashed on Sunday north of Baghdad, scattering wreckage over a large area.
Blair did, however, not say how many people died.
In addition, there was no immediate word on the cause of the crash, which occurred about a half hour after polls closed in Iraq's elections.
British C-130 Hercules planes can carry up to 128 infantry personnel, though the number on the flight was not announced.
Blair didn't give details of the British deaths, but paid tribute to the troops who died in the crash.
"This country and the wider world will never forget them," he said in a televised speech praising the election.
The spokesperson said the status of the crew and any passengers was not yet known.
In a television address congratulating Iraq on its elections on Sunday, President George W Bush said: "We also mourn the American and British military personnel who lost their lives today."
He did not specify the number killed or that they died in the crash, but there were no other reports of major incidents involving British troops on Sunday.
White House spokesperson Scott McClellan later said Bush was not necessarily referring to any American troops killed in the crash.
A senior US military officer said earlier that the Hercules aircraft was en route from Baghdad to Balad when it crashed.
- AP