The plane was marked with English inscriptions, but no date was given for when it was shot down. Pieces of wing were clearly visible on the ground.

Dozens of visibly delighted Iraqi fighters danced around the wreck with their rifles, repeating slogans to the glory of President Saddam Hussein.

"Our air defense men downed a murderous American warplane after it raided a poor area of Basra inhabited by civilians," the TV presenter said, saying the plane was shot down by anti-air defenses.

US Central Command in Qatar said a US Navy F/A-18 Hornet based on the USS Kitty Hawk carrier was shot down shortly before midnight (2100 GMT) Wednesday over Iraq, and later added it could have been brought down by a US Patriot missile.

US military authorities did not indicate where the one-pilot plane was shot down, nor say anything about the fate of the pilot.

A US Army Blackhawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq on Wednesday, but there were conflicting reports between the Pentagon and US Central Command on the number of men onboard the chopper.

WAR.WIRE