The US military has found a body of two US pilots of two marine F-18 jet fighters early Tuesday after they crashed over Iraq, the US military said.

The military announced the finding in a brief statement, without saying whether either of the jets had been found, or where the body had been recovered.

The two warplanes were flying in support of a US military operation, but "contact (with them) was lost at approximately 10:10 pm (1810 GMT) May 2," said the statement.

"The status of the second crew member is unknown at this time and search efforts continue," it added.

The two jets had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, according to the military.

A US navy officials said that the jets might have been involved in midair collision, as they were flying too high to be shot down.