thedrifter
07-20-09, 07:45 AM
NATO jet crashes in Afghanistan, two hurt: military
Mon Jul 20, 4:19 am ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – Two pilots were injured Monday when a NATO fighter jet crashed at an airfield in Afghanistan, the fourth Western aircraft to come down in the country in a week, the military said.
Mohammad Aslam Yar, a spokesman at Kandahar airbase, said the accident involved a fighter jet of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which is helping Afghan troops battle a Taliban insurgency.
"At 7:20am this morning an ISAF airplane crashed in Kandahar airbase," Yar told AFP by phone from the southern province.
"There were two pilots who ejected and were taken to a military hospital inside the base for treatment. Apart from that there are no other casualties. No enemy fire was involved, the plane is still burning."
He did not reveal the nationality of the pilots.
Squadron Leader Keith Cranswick, a NATO spokesman in Kandahar, said the accident happened soon after take-off from the airfield, which is in a province troubled by some of the deadliest insurgent violence in the country.
"It happened right after taking off when something went wrong... The crew ejected," he said.
ISAF confirmed the crash in a statement and said the incident was under investigation, but ruled out insurgent activity as the cause.
On Sunday, a civilian-contracted helicopter crashed on take-off at the same airbase, killing 16 civilians. The cause of the crash was not revealed, although the military denied that the aircraft was shot down.
On Saturday, two US crew were killed when their fighter plane went down in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. The US Air Force said the crash was not due to hostile fire.
Last Tuesday, another civilian contracted helicopter crashed in southern Helmand province, killing six passengers and a child on the ground.
That incident was claimed by Taliban fighters battling local and foreign forces, although ISAF has not confirmed the aircraft was struck by enemy fire.
Air traffic has increased recently in southern Afghanistan with the arrival of thousands of extra Western troops on a mission to stabilise the country with the Taliban insurgency at its deadliest since the 2001 US-led invasion.
Military casualties have surged in recent weeks as about 4,000 US Marines and thousands of British and Afghan forces battle their way into Taliban strongholds in the south in separate assaults launched in June and July.
There are about 90,000 foreign troops, mainly US, British and Canadian, deployed in Afghanistan to help Kabul fight the Taliban insurgency.
Ellie
Mon Jul 20, 4:19 am ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – Two pilots were injured Monday when a NATO fighter jet crashed at an airfield in Afghanistan, the fourth Western aircraft to come down in the country in a week, the military said.
Mohammad Aslam Yar, a spokesman at Kandahar airbase, said the accident involved a fighter jet of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which is helping Afghan troops battle a Taliban insurgency.
"At 7:20am this morning an ISAF airplane crashed in Kandahar airbase," Yar told AFP by phone from the southern province.
"There were two pilots who ejected and were taken to a military hospital inside the base for treatment. Apart from that there are no other casualties. No enemy fire was involved, the plane is still burning."
He did not reveal the nationality of the pilots.
Squadron Leader Keith Cranswick, a NATO spokesman in Kandahar, said the accident happened soon after take-off from the airfield, which is in a province troubled by some of the deadliest insurgent violence in the country.
"It happened right after taking off when something went wrong... The crew ejected," he said.
ISAF confirmed the crash in a statement and said the incident was under investigation, but ruled out insurgent activity as the cause.
On Sunday, a civilian-contracted helicopter crashed on take-off at the same airbase, killing 16 civilians. The cause of the crash was not revealed, although the military denied that the aircraft was shot down.
On Saturday, two US crew were killed when their fighter plane went down in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. The US Air Force said the crash was not due to hostile fire.
Last Tuesday, another civilian contracted helicopter crashed in southern Helmand province, killing six passengers and a child on the ground.
That incident was claimed by Taliban fighters battling local and foreign forces, although ISAF has not confirmed the aircraft was struck by enemy fire.
Air traffic has increased recently in southern Afghanistan with the arrival of thousands of extra Western troops on a mission to stabilise the country with the Taliban insurgency at its deadliest since the 2001 US-led invasion.
Military casualties have surged in recent weeks as about 4,000 US Marines and thousands of British and Afghan forces battle their way into Taliban strongholds in the south in separate assaults launched in June and July.
There are about 90,000 foreign troops, mainly US, British and Canadian, deployed in Afghanistan to help Kabul fight the Taliban insurgency.
Ellie