BAGHDAD, Nov. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- A civilian aircraft landed safely at Baghdad's international airport after being hit by a missile on Saturday, an airport official said.

   US military confirmed that there was an emergency landing but gave no further details.

   "Around 9:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) a cargo plane made an emergency landing at Baghdad International Airport," said a spokeswoman for the US 47th air expeditionary group.

   Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident, she added.

   Another military official who asked not to be identified confirmed that the civilian plane belonging to international express courier DHL was hit by a SAM-7 surface-to-air missile over Baghdad, forcing it to make an emergency landing.

   "A DHL plane took off from Baghdad airport this morning and was hit by a SAM-7 surface to air missile," the official said, adding   "it caught fire, it turned around and came back to the airport where it safely landed. The fire was taken out. There are no injuries."

   Local witnesses said the plane's left wing caught fire as it overflew the Mahmudiya town south of Baghdad before touching down.

   Planes leaving and landing at the airport have always faced risks of being hit in the frequent missile attacks, but it was the first report that a fixed-wing aircraft rather than a helicopter was hit.

   Six US helicopters have been brought down by hostile fire since the major combat was declared over on May 1, killing 39 soldiers in total.  Enditem