Defence ministry: Body of Iraqi missing pilot found in Arizona

The body of missing Iraqi pilot Rasid Mohammed Siddiq was found in the US state of Arizona, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said Friday.

In a statement, the ministry mourned the pilot's death, affirming determination to defend Iraq and its security and stability.

Siddiq, who had been receiving training in the United States for four years, was flying an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft that crashed in southern Arizona.

The plane, with its solo pilot, went down about 8 p.m. Wednesday in a rural area about five miles east of Douglas Municipal Airport, near the Mexican border, according to a spokeswoman for the 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard, which runs the training program for international pilots.

The crash about 120 miles southeast of Tucson started a fire that was initially blamed on a ruptured natural gas line. But military officials on Thursday said it was unknown whether gas was involved.
The Air Force has assembled an interim safety board to investigate the incident, the spokeswoman said.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon belongs to the Iraqi Air Force, part of two lots bought in 2011 and 2012. The purchases predate the recent air campaign in Iraq against Daesh.

Because of the difficult security situation, the craft were never sent to Iraq.

About 24 Iraqi Air Force pilots are in varying stages of the training program, which usually takes several years to complete. None of the Iraqis have graduated. The Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing has been training international military pilots for 23 years.