The US Department of Defence (the Pentagon) has suspended flights on all F-35 combat jets and ordered more inspections as it probes the cause of an engine fire last month.
Details on the fire, which occurred June 23, were not immediately available.
"The root cause of the incident remains under investigation. Additional inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered, and return to flight will be determined based on inspection results and analysis of engineering data," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
Last year, the pentagon grounded the F-35 fighter jet because of a crack in an engine component that was discovered during a routine inspection in California.
Separately sources said that an explosive device went off near a police patrol in south Kirkuk injuring three of the patrol members.