US soldier killed, several missing in 'friendly fire' attack by warplane

An American soldier was killed and several others reported missing after a US F-15 strike aircraft apparently dropped bombs or missiles on Allied troops, the military said yesterday.

Central Command launched an investigation into what it called a "possible friendly-fire incident involving an F-15E Strike Eagle and coalition ground forces". It said names of the dead and missing soldiers were being withheld until next of kin had been informed.

The announcement came after two American aircraft went down, killing up to eight US servicemen. A Black Hawk transport helicopter crashed near Karbala, 50 miles south-west of Baghdad, a staging post in the Allied advance on the Iraqi capital, and the scene of fierce engagements with the Iraqis. In a separate incident, a US F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bomber also went down.

US Central Command admitted last night that the Hornet "may have" been downed by an American Patriot missile. Two weeks ago an RAF Tornado was shot down by a Patriot missile battery, killing both its crew.

There has been speculation that the Black Hawk might also have been brought down in a friendly-fire incident. The Pentagon initially suggested that the helicopter had been shot down by enemy fire, reviving memories of the downing of a Black Hawk in Mogadishu during US operations in Somalia a decade ago. It had also reported that the Hornet had been shot down. Central Command officials later said both crashes were under investigation.

Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told a press conference in Qatar that "hostile fire" was not suspected in the helicopter downingand that there were reports the Hornet was hit by missiles, not elaborating whether they were Iraqi or Allied missiles. Black Hawks have been protected by Apache attack helicopters in much of the advance on Baghdad.

General Brooks confirmed there were "some casualties" from the helicopter crash. The Pentagon said six Americans on board the helicopter were killed. The Hornet pilot was missing, and search and rescue operations were under way, officials said.

A US Marine was reported killed in an accident yesterday when the seven-ton vehicle on which he was manning a .50 calibre rifle apparently became snagged with low-level power lines. He was a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which has been leading the advance on Baghdad.

The total number of US casualties since the war began is now 60 or 61 killed in combat, accidents or friendly-fire incidents. Twelve are missing and six have been captured.

Five Britons have been killed in combat and 22 have died in accidents or friendly-fire incidents.

A British solder with 16 Air Assault Brigade was killed last Friday when a US A-10 tankbuster aircraft destroyed his light Scimitar tank in the third fatal friendly-fire attack on British servicemen since the beginning of the war. Two other soldiers in the Scimitar were seriously wounded.

The previous Friday, eight British soldiers and four US Marines, were killed when their Sea Knight helicopter crashed in Kuwait. The following day six British troops and one US serviceman were killed when two Sea King helicopters collided close to the HMS Ark Royal.

Nine days ago, two members of a Challenger tank crew were killed when it was fired on by another Challenger. A tank commander and a Black Watch soldier were killed in combat on Sunday and Monday. They had originally been listed as missing but their bodies were shown on television in an Iraqi-made video on Wednesday.