Two British RAF Aircrew Killed by US Missile

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 24, 2003

Two British RAF Aircrew Killed by US Missile

Two British aircrew were killed Sunday when a US Patriot missile battery shot down their Tornado bomber in the Gulf, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed late on Sunday.

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Two British aircrew were killed Sunday when a US Patriot missile battery shot down their Tornado bomber in the Gulf, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed late on Sunday.

"We can confirm that they were both killed in action," a spokesman for the ministry said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are of course with the families and friends of the aircrew concerned," he added.

The British military did not identify the two pilots, who were believed to from the RAF base at Marham, in Britain.

The Tornado bomber was returning from an operational mission when it was downed early Sunday near the Kuwaiti border with Iraq.

The incident, the first reported case of "friendly fire" since the start of the US-led war against Iraq, brings to 16 the tally of British servicemen killed in the Gulf.

On Saturday, six British servicemen were killed when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over the Gulf in what was described as a "tragic accident."

Eight British Royal Marines died when the US CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter they were on board crashed in Kuwait.

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