Egypt F-16 fighter jet crashes during drill killing crew members

Thursday 28-01-2016 PM 04:11
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CAIRO, Jan 28 (Aswat Masriya) – An F-16 fighter jet crashed Wednesday killing all crew members on board, the Armed Forces spokesman said in a Facebook statement.

The statement did not specify the number of personnel on board or the location of the crash.

A security source told Aswat Masriya that the fighter jet crashed during a military drill close to the Fayed Air Base in the province of Ismailia.

The source added that the crash was due to a "technical malfunction" which led to the death of the two security personnel on board.

The United States delivered to Egypt eight F-16 Block II Fighting Falcons in July and four more in October with the aim of "confronting terrorism in the region," the U.S. embassy said in a statement in November 2015.

The delivery of the jets came as part of the U.S. $1.3 billion commitment to support Egypt’s security which was partially suspended following the army's ouster of then-President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 after protests against his rule.

The aid was resumed in March 2015.

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