"The Mi-8 helicopter from the Bulgarian company Heliair was shot down by a missile," the statement said.

It said the the nine dead were three Bulgarian crew members and six other civilians, whose nationalities had not yet been determined.

The defence ministry said the crash occurred in the early afternoon and that the helicopter was apparently also carrying cargo. The ministry did not provide details.

In Baghdad, the US military said that all nine people aboard the aircraft, which was on contract to the US-led multinational forces, were killed when it went down Thursday to the north of the Iraqi capital.

"A contract helicopter has gone down," said the source, who declined to be named. The source said the crash happened at around 1 pm (0900 GMT).

Initial reports suggested there were no US military personnel on the aircraft.

Bulgaria currently has 462 troops with the US-led force in Iraq. The government has asked parliament to approve the withdrawal of the troops by the end of 2005.

Defence ministry spokesperson Vladislav Prelezov told AFP that "there is no connection whatsoever between the downed helicopter and the Bulgarian armed forces in Iraq."

"It is common practice for Canadian and US companies to hire helicopters and other vehicles from third countries in order to carry humanitarian and other missions in Iraq," Prelezov said.

Heliair CEO Mihail Mihailov confirmed to Bulgarian Focus newsagency that the downed chopper was his company's property, which was hired by Canadian aircarrier Skylink.

Mihailov also said this was the only Heliair aircraft operating in Iraq.

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