SAS soldiers killed as chopper crashes on raid to target Iraq bombers

It is understood the men were on their way to a covert mission against suicide bombers.

The aircraft's RAF crew survived the crash on Tuesday, which is not thought to have been the result of an insurgent attack.

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Two of the wounded were said to have been seriously hurt.

The men were rescued from the crash site, near Salman Pak on the outskirts of Baghdad, by U.S. Black Hawk helicopters.

An RAF inquiry team was flying to Iraq last night amid renewed concerns about the safety of the Puma, the RAF's oldest helicopter.

In April, another SAS soldier was killed when two Pumas collided.

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A Puma pilot later claimed the helicopters had various problems, including a delay in power reaching the rotor blades when controls are switched

between the pilots. In August, a soldier and two RAF crew members died when their Puma crashed in a field near Catterick, North Yorkshire.

The crash is still under investigation but an eyewitness reported the aircraft "misfiring" before turning on its side and dropping "like a sack of potatoes".

The Puma, which entered RAF service in 1971, is used regularly on SAS battlefield operations and for evacuating casualties.

The helicopters can carry 16 fully-equipped troops.

The RAF has 33 Pumas, operated by 33 Squadron, based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, and by 230 Squadron, based at RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland.

The fleet is being upgraded with selfdefence technology, including a missilewarning system and an infra-red jammer.

Gordon Brown told MPs yesterday that nobody should "jump to any conclusions" about the cause of the latest crash.

Liberal Democrat Paul Keetch, whose Hereford constituency includes the home base of the SAS, had demanded to know when special forces would be able to use new Chinook helicopters ordered by the previous Tory government.

He said: "The two men killed in Iraq were possibly in a Puma helicopter that was older than some of the personnel it was carrying."

Mr Brown replied: "I don't think anybody should jump to any conclusions about what has actually happened and a full investigation will and should take place.

"What I do want to do is to pay tribute to the courage and the dedication and the service of the men who have died.

"As far as equipment is concerned, we have ordered more helicopters and more helicopters are there on the ground."

The deaths take the number of British troops killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to 173.

Five members of the SAS have been killed there this year. The regiment operates from a base some 50 miles from Baghdad.