Washington, July 09: US sanctions on Sudan include exemptions for spare parts for civilian airliners, a State Department spokesman said, rejecting claims by a Sudanese official that the sanctions had caused a plane crash which killed 115 people, including three Indians. "While there are US sanctions in effect against Sudan and other state sponsors of terrorism, specific licences may be issued on a case by case basis for the exportation of goods, services and technology to ensure the safety of civil aviation and safe operation of us origin commercial passenger aircrafts," spokesman Philip Reeker said yesterday. He did not know if Sudanese officials had requested a license for airline parts, but said other countries under sanctions have received permission to buy parts for US-made planes.

Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Maputo that the plane crash early yesterday was the direct result of US sanctions.

"This plane had not been serviced for five or six years," he said in the Mozambican capital. The Sudan Airways Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff from Port Sudan on the Red Sea bound for Khartoum, airline and government officials said in the Sudanese capital.

The dead included a senior military officer and eight foreigners.

Bureau Report