"Five of our troops perished in the helicopter crash," British military spokesman Major Sebastian Muntz told AFP, adding that the military had nearly completed the work to recover the wreckage.

"Most of the wreckage has been recovered," he said.

In London British Defense Secretary Des Browne had said that up to five troops died in the crash.

"There were no more than five people on board the helicopter," he told BBC television. "We are currently informing the next of kin."

Browne said investigations were underway to determine what happened and reiterated his condolences to the families of the dead military personnel.

The crash, which occurred on Saturday, sparked bloody clashes with at least five Iraqis killed and dozens wounded when British troops sent to recover their dead from the crashed Lynx helicopter clashed with an angry mob.

Browne said that about 200 to 300 people "involved in serious disorder were brought under control within a matter of hours and calm and order restored by (Saturday) evening".

British and Iraqi soldiers had worked together "to restore stability to the area round about the incident" and people in Iraq's second city were now going "about their normal business", he added.

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