The US military confirmed this morning that an F/A-18 Hornet single-seat aircraft went down in Iraq overnight.
The US Central Command forward headquarters in the Gulf state of Qatar said an investigation was continuing and the pilot's name would not yet be released.
It said the plane came down shortly before midnight Iraq time last night.
US television networks said the fighter-bomber, based on an aircraft carrier, had been shot down over southern Iraq by a surface-to-air missile.
