The underground Baathist organisation, the Islamic Army in Iraq, claims responsibility for shooting down the AN-26 aircraft on Tuesday morning, January 9, near the Iraqi town of Balad, Reuters reports. According to the source, residents of Balad said that hours after the crash leaflets were distributed in the town saying a Sunni Arab insurgent group, the Islamic Army, had shot down the plane with a missile. On the other hand, the US military, which controls Iraqi air space, declined to comment. In 2005, hostile fire was believed to have downed a British military transport plane in the same area, killing all 10 people on board. Similar claims follow most air crashes in Iraq, Reuters specifies. In the Tuesday plane crash five citizens of Moldova, the crew members of the AN-26 aircraft, lost their lives with other 29 passengers on board. Only one Turkish citizen has survived the crash, Info-Prim Neo reported. According to Turkish civil aviation authorities, heavy fog was reportedly the cause of the air crash.