15 uk troops killed in plane crash

Ap to 15 British military personnel have been killed after a giant transport plane crashed near Baghdad on Sunday in what defence experts fear was a ground-to-air attack by insurgents. ‘‘The maximum feared dead is 15,’’ a British defence ministry official said after the crash that could be Britain’s biggest single loss of life since the US-led invasion.

Wreckage from the C-130 Hercules was strewn over a wide area when it plunged into the desert 30 km northwest of Baghdad, prompting experts to argue it could have been hit by insurgents. ‘‘It could very well be hostile action,’’ said parliamentary defence adviser Air Vice Marshal Tony Mason. Reuters