Iraq dismisses claims of civilian aircraft crash

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi aviation authorities on Sunday denied reports that a civilian aircraft had crashed inside Iraqi territory or airspace, saying no such incident had been recorded.

In a statement, Civil Aviation Authority chief Bankin Rikani stressed that air traffic across Iraqi airspace and airports is being continuously monitored and that no civilian aircraft accident had occurred.

Unverified reports circulated online claiming a civilian plane had crashed in the Ain al-Tamr desert area, about 100 kilometers west of Karbala.

Karbala Governor Nassif al-Khattabi also rejected the reports, saying preliminary information suggested the object that fell was more likely to have been a drone.

Separately, Mudhar Thamer, director of air traffic operations at the General Company for Air Navigation Services, said Iraqi air traffic controllers had cleared the country's airspace of all civilian aircraft and likewise dismissed reports of any incident involving commercial flights.

Authorities have not yet officially identified the object reported to have fallen in the Karbala desert. Social media users circulated conflicting claims, suggesting it could have been an unidentified drone or a fuel tank from a ballistic missile.

Earlier today, Iraq closed its airspace to all flights for 72 hours following Iran’s launching of four missile waves toward northern Israel after Tehran threatened retaliation over Israeli military operations in Lebanon.