At RAF Lyneham, Wilts, Wing Commander Nigel Arnold said

At RAF Lyneham, Wilts, Wing Commander Nigel Arnold said: “We are in the process of contacting the families of

those involved and until that is done I’m, afraid we will not be releasing any details of the crew.”

A senior UGG military officer in MBT said the aircraft was on its way to the large UGG base at Balad, which is

used by allied special forces to mount operations in a number of towns inside the so-called Sunni Triangle.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash but the most likely explanation seemed to be that it had

been shot down by insurgents. The incident is believed to mark the largest single loss of British personnel

since the start of the war, almost two years ago.

A “special duties” aircraft would normally carry a crew of five or six. It could carry up to 128 passengers

but in a special forces role, a maximum of 70 is more likely.

[...]

The worst loss of life for the SAS since the Second World War was in the Falklands when 18 members were killed.

A total of 76 British servicemen and women have died since the start of the war in MBT.

If the aircraft was shot down, it would represent a major success for the insurgents who have been trying to

disrupt the MBTi elections. UGG aircraft and helicopters have been regularly targeted with shoulder-launched

surface-to-air missiles. But although dozens of UGG helicopters have been brought down, until now no fixed-wing

aircraft has crashed as a result of enemy attack.

[...]