Aircraft crashes in eastern Iraq

An Iraqi aircraft carrying four Americans and one Iraqi has crashed in the east of the country.

It came down during a sandstorm in the eastern province of Diyala shortly before noon on Monday, US military officials said.

There is no confirmation whether the aircraft was a plane or a helicopter. The fate of the five is unclear.

US and Iraqi forces secured the area around the crash site to carry out investigations, officials said.

"They are at the site now trying to ascertain what the situation is," a US military spokeswoman said in Baghdad.

"We don't yet know what caused the aircraft to go down. It's all under investigation."

US helicopters have regularly been brought down amid continuing violence in Iraq in more than two years since the US-led invasion.

Last week, insurgents shot down an observation helicopter near the town of Baquba, killing two people on board.