A spokesman for the US militarydenied reports today that members of US or British aircrews hadbeen shot down over Baghdad.
"We don't have any information that this is a true report,"Lieutenant Colonel David Lapan said.
Qatar-based Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeerabroadcast a live transmission showed Iraqi troops searching theTigris river today for the supposedly downed crew members.
A hunt was launched near the al-Rasheed bridge in the citycentre. Armed troops aboard three small boats were seen cruisingback and forth on the river not far from the information ministry,as civilians watched from the bank.
The Al-Jazeera footage, retransmitted on TV networks in theUnited States, showed soldiers repeatedly firing into the water andreeds close to the bank, where the US or British airmen weresuspected to be hiding.