LONDON, Feb 7 (AFP) - The bodies of 10 servicemen who died when a British military transport plane crashed in Iraq last month will be returned to Britain on Tuesday, Defence Minister Geoff Hoon said Monday.
But the cause of the crash northwest of Baghdad, which resulted in Britain's largest single-day loss of life since it helped launch the Iraq war in March 2003, remained a mystery, Hoon told the British lower house of parliament.
"Investigations into the cause of the crash are continuing," he told the House of Commons.
"Repatriation of their bodies is planned to take place tomorrow at RAF Lyneham," said Hoon, referring to the Royal Air Force base in Britain.
The nine RAF men and one soldier were killed on January 30 when their C-130 Hercules, renowned for its reliability, came down in clear conditions 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Baghdad, between Baghdad International Airport and the US air base at Balad.
The disaster took place as Iraqis nationwide went to the polls for the first democratic election in the country in 50 years.
A defense ministry spokesman has described as "speculation" press reports that investigators were considering the possibility a bomb may have been on board the Hercules, or claims that an anti-tank missile brought it down.
Two militant Islamic groups have separately claimed responsibility.
However, experts said that any number of factors could have resulted in the fatal crash, ranging from an attack to engine failure or pilot error, meaning all current talk about the cause was mere speculation.
02/07/2005 16:25 GMT - AFP