The body of an Iraqi pilot whose F-16 crashed during a training mission near Douglas has been found at the crash site, Iraq’s Defense Ministry said Friday.
The ministry statement said search teams found the body of Brig. Gen. Rasid Mohammed Sadeeq at the crash site about five miles east of the Douglas airport.
A day earlier, a Defense Ministry official gave a different name for the pilot, identifying him as Brig. Gen. Rafid Mohammed Hassan. The ministry Friday had no explanation for the conflicting identities.
The Arizona Air National Guard gave the pilot’s name as Brig. Gen. Rasid Mohammed Sadiq Hasan, a student pilot attached to the 162nd Wing based in Tucson.
“Our hearts are with Gen. Hasan’s family, friends and countrymen,” said Col. Phil Purcell, commander of the 162nd Wing. “Gen. Hasan’s efforts in the defense of his nation should be commended.”
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He was the only person aboard when the F-16 Fighting Falcon went down during a Wednesday night training mission with the 162nd Wing, the ministry said.
It said the death of the pilot would only make Iraqi security forces “more determined to defeat the forces of terrorism.”
Iraq is expecting its first batch of F-16 fighter planes — along with Iraqi pilots trained in the United States — and spare parts this summer. Iraqi military has said the planes would be immediately used to carry out operations against the extremist Islamic State group.
“The 162nd Wing, the state of Arizona and the Air National Guard remain committed to our partnership with Iraq,” Purcell said. “Our coalition partners are vital to our wing, and we have lost one of our own.”
The Air Force has established an interim safety board to investigate the crash. The plane belonged to the Iraqi air force, but the United States is training Iraqi pilots to fly the F-16s at the request of the Iraqi government.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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