LONDON, March 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Making the fourth in a row, a British Royal Air Force aircraft is missing in Iraq and might have been brought down by a U.S.-operated Patriot missile battery, the defense ministry said early Sunday, March 23.

"I can confirm that a plane went missing on the way back from an operational mission and we have evidence to suspect it might have been engaged by a U.S.-operated patriot missile battery near the Kuwaiti border," a ministry of British defense spokesman said, Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The spokesman said that it was not yet possible to say what sort of plane was involved or how many crew it contained as no families had been contacted.

He also declined to say what mission the aircraft had been carrying out when it went missing.

According to the BBC's online news service, Group Captain Al Lockwood, chief spokesman for the British forces, said the aircraft had been returning from operations when the accident happened.

He said: "Evidence is beginning to come to light that it was engaged by a U.S. Patriot missile battery." It appeared that the plane had been shot down, he said, reported the BBC.

Lockwood added that an investigation team will be set up to "get to the bottom" of the incident, the BBC said.

On Saturday six British servicemen and an American were killed when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over the Gulf.

The two helicopters collided in mid-air Saturday, March 22, over international waters in the Gulf, a British military spokesman said.

The incident occurred at around 4:30 am local time (0130 GMT) and involved two Royal Navy Sea King Airborne Early Warning helicopters, Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted the spokesman as saying.

That incident followed another helicopter crash in Kuwait the day before, Friday, March 23, in which eight British Royal Marines and four U.S. airmen were killed.

The U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter came down during deployment operations to the Fao peninsula in southern Iraq.