PRAYERS: Siana from year 1 at St Peter's School in Chippenham 15297/03SPECULATION was continuing yesterday into the cause of Sunday's Hercules tragedy in Iraq. Initial reports suggested the C130k, which is known for its reliability, crashed due to mechanical failure.

Specialist military investigators were sent to the scene of the crash on Monday, where wreckage was scattered over a huge area, fuelling speculation that it was brought down by a missile or a bomb on board.

The transporter plane was en route to an American airbase in Balad, but came down just 25 miles after taking off from Baghdad Airport.

The exact mission of the aircraft is not known, but Hercules are regularly used to ferry servicemen and equipment around.

On Monday Islamic militants claimed they had shot down the plane with a ground-to-air missile.

They released a video, broadcast on Iraqi television, purporting to show two rockets being fired, followed by an explosion and wreckage on the ground.

But former Hercules crewman Andy Humm said he did not think the debris was that of a Hercules. He also said the engine looked like a jet engine.

The MoD said the investigation could take months to reach a conclusion.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray, a former shadow defence minister, said: "We need to think about the families and the aftermath. The RAF have engineers and accident investigators out in Iraq right now looking into it.

"There are questions which need to be asked if they aren't answered freely. What was the plane doing going to Balad? Was it shot down or an explosion or a crash? Exactly who was on board? There's a whole variety of questions which will need to be asked.

"Ten thousand people in North Wiltshire who are linked in some way or another to RAF Lyneham will want answers."

He said he would wait for a more appropriate time to put the questions to the Government. "Even then I will do so it quite a delicate way," he said. "It's not a question of politics or tripping people up but we need to know and the families need to know but this must be done in a delicate way."

Mr Gray said he was also upset at how the families were told the news and was unsure why it took so long to inform them.

"There are six Hercules in Iraq at the moment and on Monday there were five crews' families worried unnecessarily. They should not have delayed the announcement.

"I spoke to Adam Ingram, the armed forces minister, and he said the media had the information very early on. But given that's the case we could have hastened telling the survivors' families more quickly.

"There's one person I've spoken to whose husband is in Iraq at the moment. He phoned saying something terrible had happened but he was not involved.

"She knew by 4pm (on Sunday) that her husband was safe but didn't find out from the RAF until later that night.

"If the announcement was that ten American soldiers had been killed it would have been difficult to know because there are around 250,000 out there. When a specific piece of news says a Hercules has gone down everyone worries about their family because there are not many."

Mr Gray dismissed claims by papers that there has been a dispute between the RAF and families of the deceased following suggestions that the bodies would be flown back to Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, rather than Lyneham.

"There is an article about a dispute over where the bodies will go," he said. "As I understand it the RAF is in discussions with the families about what they want to happen and the process of what will take place.

"I would hope they go back to Lyneham. I told Adam Ingram how I feel and he said it was a matter for the RAF but they are discussing it."

Mr Gray said he would be willing to help Lyneham in whatever way he could.

"I went there on Monday morning and spoke to the station commander and I have many friends who are serving up there.

"It's a devastating blow for a very small community which is very dependant on the RAF. It's not just the bereaved but everybody.

"I don't think there has ever been a Hercules lost to enemy fire. Two were lost in the 90s but both were due to pilot error. No Hercules have been shot down for a very long time, if at all."

Mr Gray said he would do whatever it took to help the community through the next few weeks, and would be present when the coffins returned.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Mr Gray said the healing of the hearts and the surrounding communities would take a very long time.

He said: "I hope that that process will be helped by the knowledge that the sheer professionalism, determination and guts of the men and women of RAF Lyneham have made such a significant contribution to the successful elections. I hope that, through their grief, they will realise that their men have made some contribution to restoring democracy and peace in Iraq."