"Certainly for today our operations are suspended and I would imagine for tomorrow also," a spokeswoman for the formerly US-owned courier, which is now owned by Germany's Deutsche Post, told AFP in Brussels.

"At the moment there are discussions ongoing as to whether we will actually suspend operations (for the long-term)," spokeswoman Patricia Thomson added.

The discussions were "at the most senior level with the relevant aviation authorities", she said.

Nobody was injured in the missile attack on the DHL Airbus A300 freighter but it prompted Jordanian carrier Royal Wings, the only airline to offer civilian passenger flights into Baghdad, to suspend its service.

The US military said the DHL plane was hit by a SAM-7 surface-to-air missile over Baghdad and caught fire but returned to make a successful emergency landing at the airport.

"It caught fire. It turned around and came back to the airport where it safely landed. The fire was taken out," said a military official who asked not to be identified.

Thomson said the freighter had been flying from Baghdad to DHL's Gulf hub in Bahrain when it was forced to return to the Iraqi capital at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT). None of the crew was hurt, she said.

It was the first time that a civilian plane using Baghdad airport had been hit by a missile although eight previous firings had been reported and at least one US military helicopter downed.

DHL was the first courier firm allowed to operate out of Baghdad after US-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein in April. It started worldwide advertising of its service in July.

The company has been operating on average three flights a day into the Iraqi capital, carrying US government mail and humanitarian aid as well more routine packages and documents.

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