Iraq says shooting on Emirati airplane at Baghdad airport "unintentional"

The Iraqi security authorities on Tuesday said the attack on a United Arab Emirates (UAE) passenger plane was unintentional, and stressed that the Iraqi capital airport is fully secured.

The spokesman for Baghdad Operations Command, Brigadier General Saad Maan, said that "the incident, which involved one of Flydubai planes was casual."

"This incident would not affect the flights, as Baghdad airport is 100 percent secured," Maan said.

"Up to 72 flights used the same flying route and same altitudes before the incident of Flydubai, and some seven flights after it without any incident," Maan pointed out, in an attempt to prove that the Flydubai plane was not meant by the small arms fire.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, and the results would be announced later, while more security measures have been taken to ensure safety for the passengers and the planes, Maan added.

A plane of budget airliner Flydubai was hit while landing at Baghdad airport on Monday evening by small arms fire from the al-Radhwaniya area, just south of the airport, causing damage to the aircraft, an airport security source told Xinhua, adding that an official statement would be released soon by the Iraqi Authority of Aviation.

Media reports said that Emirates Airlines and some other airlines suspended flights to Baghdad Tuesday after the shooting incident.

Baghdad International Airport is surrounded by a vast and heavily guarded security perimeter and is blocked with concrete blast walls, making it difficult for insurgent groups to fire on the landing and departing planes. Endit