WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |The Latest: Plane With Alabama Senator & Congressman Fired On In Iraq

The Latest: Plane With Alabama Senator & Congressman Fired On In Iraq

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby and U.S. Representative Bud Cramer were among four lawmakers on a military cargo plane that was fired upon in Iraq Thursday night.

The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130, was under fire from three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes as they left Baghdad for Amman, Jordan. Republican Senators, Mel Martinez, of Florida and James Inhofe, of Oklahoma, were also on the plane.

Capt. Angel Wallace, a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command, said she was not aware of the incident, and military public affairs officials in Baghdad could not be reached immediately. Lawmakers travel to Iraq regularly to get a closer look at military and political progress there, usually staying inside Baghdad's secured Green Zone and traveling under heavy security.

Despite the scare, Shelby, Martinez and Cramer said they believed the recent increase in troop levels has helped stabilize parts of the country.

WSFA 12 News tried to speak to U.S. Senator Richard Shelby. His spokeswoman says he is unavailable because as of 9pm Thursday he is in a plane bound for the United States. He is expected to release a statement on Friday.

Late Thursday night, Congressman Cramer released the following statement to the media:

"Our plane leaving Iraq was fired upon and it was a close call, but this is something that our men and women in combat face every day. The flight crew was outstanding and I credit them for the way they handled the situation. This should not take away from the purpose of this trip, which was to see first hand the operations in Iraq and thank our troops, many of them from North Alabama."