Japan could dispatch the Air Self-Defense Force to Iraq because it is better able to dodge surface-to-air attacks than operators of civilian airliners, Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday.

"Unlike civilian airplanes, when ASDF transport planes fly (over a strife-ridden country like Iraq) they are required to be skilled at flying and dodging attacks," Ishiba told a news conference.

He was referring to an incident Saturday in which a civilian transport plane operated by DHL, a Belgium-based international express delivery service, was hit by a shoulder-fired missile near Baghdad. The Airbus A300 landed safely at Baghdad International Airport.

But Ishiba did not say whether the government plans to send the ASDF to Iraq. Calls are growing in some coalition quarters to deploy ASDF aircraft to Iraq to provide humanitarian aid.

Fukushiro Nukaga, chief policymaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, indicated during a TV program Sunday that the government should consider sending air and maritime forces to Iraq before ground troops.

Government sources said the government had earlier planned mainly to send ground troops to the southern city of Samawah by the end of this year. The security situation in the area was considered to be relatively better than the Baghdad area.

But recent guerrilla attacks have forced Japan to drastically review the original plan.