BAGHDAD May 2: An American spy plane crashed in southern Iraq on Friday during a pre-dawn mission, the US military said.

The remotely piloted long-endurance MQ-1 Predator crashed after it was launched from what was described as “Ali Base,” the US air force authorities in Iraq said in a statement.It gave no additional details about the incident or where the aircraft went down, but added that an investigation would be launched.

“Mechanical failure is suspected,” the statement said.

US troops rely heavily on spy planes to search out militiamen targeting American forces.The latest crash came hours after a spate of bomb attacks in Iraq killed 44 people. Double suicide bombings outside the capital left at least 35 people dead, while a car bomb attack in Baghdad itself killed nine.—AFP