Iraq militants claim downing US F16: Jazeera TV

Dubai, Nov 28: Two Iraqi militant groups claimed to have downed a US F16 plane in retaliation for what they said was the US army's killing of tens of Iraqis, Al Jazeera television said today.

The television said it was quoting a joint statement from the Mujahideen Army and the Mujahideen Shura Council, in which they claimed the attack.

The Pentagon had no immediate comment on the claim, which Al Jazeera said came in a statement posted on the Internet.

The US military said earlier an F16 fighter on a combat mission near Baghdad crashed on Monday, but said it had no information on the fate of the pilot or the cause of the crash.

A local journalist who shot film of the wreckage of the plane after it came down north of Falluja in Iraq's western Anbar province said the pilot was dead.

While helicopter crashes in Iraq are not uncommon, it is rare for a fixed-wing aircraft to come down.

Reuters