F-16 Crashes in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=ILKAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

BAGHDAD (AP) -- An F-16 fighter jet crashed Friday in Iraq, the Air Force reported, in the first such loss in more than six months. The statement said the crash was an accident, but did not say where the plane went down or what happened to the pilot.

Separately, the U.S. military announced the deaths of five American soldiers. In a surprise visit to Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered support for the top U.S. commander here and denied that the military was offering overly optimistic assessments of the war.

"It's a very mixed picture," Gates told reporters on his plane when asked whether the military and Gen. David Petraeus were realistic about the violence that continues in Baghdad even after the number of U.S. troops has been increased over the past few months. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has questioned whether the top commander in Iraq was being candid.

The loss of an F-16, a workhorse warplane in the Iraq war, is rare. One crashed last Nov. 27 in the western province of Anbar, killing the pilot. The jet that crashed shortly after midnight on Friday was deployed to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base, 50 miles north of Baghdad.