AS SAYLIYA CAMP (Qatar), April 8: A US A-10 Warthog ground attack fighter was shot down near Baghdad airport on Tuesday, but the pilot was safely rescued, officials at Central Command headquarters said.

“We had one A-10 aircraft conducting a close air-support mission at low altitude in support of ground troops...and we believe that it was hit by surface-to-air missile fire,” Brigadier General Vincent Brooks said at a news briefing in Qatar.

“The pilot was immediately recovered and is safely back in coalition control.”

A Central Command statement said the pilot had ejected and was believed to be in good health.

A-10 planes were pounding Iraqi anti-aircraft positions near the airport on Tuesday morning.—Reuters