He told a press conference that the vertical take-off Harrier, which is used by Britain's Royal Air Force and the US Marine Corps, had exploded in flight after being hit by Baath party forces near Qadisiyah.

The Apache helicopter was shot down in the southern Basra region by tribal militia men, and the two crew members were killed, he said.

Sahhaf gave no dates, but said Iraqi civil defense units had recovered the Harrier pilot's identity card and parts of the aircraft.

In other attacks, "Iraqis destroyed four tanks" from the invading coalition and killed their occupants, "burying the American and British mercenaries according to their rituals."

On developments in Basra, where Iraqi troops continue to resist coalition forces, Sahhaf criticized the bombing of civilian areas.

The coalition "bombed a vegetable and fruit market in the Hamdan quarter, the civilian Al-Zeitun quarter, the offices of an oil company, Naft al-Junub, and the television offices in Basra," he said.

He gave no information on any civilian casualties from these bombings.

WAR.WIRE