A British military transport plane has crashed in Iraq, minutes after taking off from Baghdad airport for a short flight to the city of Balad.

The Hercules C-130 transporter came down 25 miles northwest of the capital at 4.40pm local time (1.40pm GMT), the Ministry of Defence said.

Wreckage was scattered over a wide area, and helicopters hovered overhead surveying the scene.

There was no immediate word on the number of casualties. The Hercules, a US-built troop carrier used by both British and American forces, is capable of transporting up to 90 soldiers.

Military sources in Iraq said the aircraft is primarily used to ferry troops from the British sector headquarters in Basra to the Iraqi capital. The transport plane rarely travels north of Baghdad.

Nor was there any confirmation on what caused the Hercules to crash, although rebel mortar or rocket fire is a constant danger for military aircraft.

A British Army spokesman in Iraq said: "We can confirm that a UK C130 Hercules has crashed in central Iraq. We are not able to confirm the safety of the crew or any passengers. The cause of the crash is not yet known."

A spokeswoman from the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad (CPIC) could not say whether the plane, based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, had been carrying troops or equipment.

"It’s too early to speculate on the cause - we’re dealing with the immediate aftermath of the incident at the moment," she said.

Balad lies less than 50 miles north of Baghdad. It is the site of one of the largest US airbases in Iraq.

On January 12, a news reporter from the American TV network CBS wrote a piece from Balad about the danger of flying Hercules across Iraqi skies, where an aircraft the size of the C-130 made an inviting target for the insurgents.

David Martin interviewed to Captain Kurt Kresmer, who told him: "They’re obviously watching us fly in and out. Their tactics have changed. They’re trying to get up small arms fire to hit us."

Balad was described as one of the airfields that Hercules crews "like the least".

Mr Martin wrote that the US Air Force was flying in 800 tons of cargo a day into Iraq, adding: "Every ton in the air is a ton that doesn't have to be hauled by truck over Iraq's dangerous roads... Every member of the crew who can afford to take his eyes off the instruments keeps a lookout for ground fire."

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