Thu, 22:54 20 Nov 2008 GMT17

 

Civilian cargo plane crashes in Iraq, killing 7
13 Nov 2008 18:52:29 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds details of operator)

BAGHDAD, Nov 13 (Reuters) - A civilian cargo aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, killing all seven people on board, the U.S. military and shipping firm FedEx <FDX.N> said.

The plane was operated by a company called Falcon Aviation and was carrying FedEx cargo, said Sandra Munoz, spokeswoman for Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx.

On its website, Falcon Aviation Group Ltd. describes itself as a Dubai-based firm operating cargo flights in the Gulf region for FedEx and other firms, including flights to the al-Asad U.S. air base in western Iraq.

An employee at the company said he was unable to comment.

The Ukrainian-built AN-12 plane crashed shortly after takeoff, said U.S. military spokesman Captain Charles Calio. It had just left an air base near the western city of Falluja.

Calio said no U.S. citizens or soldiers had been on board and hostile fire had been ruled out as a cause of the crash.

"It looks like everybody was lost," he said.

Iraqi police Major Hussein al-Dulaimy, in western Iraq's Anbar province, said the aircraft burst into flames when it hit the ground.

Last month, a U.S. soldier was killed when two Black Hawk helicopters collided while landing in northern Baghdad, in a crash which also injured two American and two Iraqi soldiers. Seven U.S. soldiers were killed when a Chinook transport helicopter crashed in southern Iraq in September. (Reporting by Tim Cocks and Peter Graff in Baghdad, Fadel al-Badrani in Falluja, Inal Ersan in Dubai and Nick Carey in Chicago; editing by Andrew Roche)
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A demonstrator displays a poster of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a march in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, November 19, 2008. Hundreds of people took to ...



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