Dutch F-16 crashes in southern Afghanistan, pilot dies

[bemildred]

Kabul/The Hague - A Dutch pilot died when his F-16 fighter crashed over southern Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force said, adding the aircraft had not been shot down.

The Dutch Defence Ministry said in The Hague that the F-16 had been flying too high after leaving its base at Kandahar to support ground troops in the southern Helmand Province for it to have been downed by enemy action.

The ministry gave the age of the pilot as 29 and said the next-of-kin had been informed.

ISAF said the area where the aircraft came down had been secured by US-led troops. They did not reveal the location for security reasons, but the Dutch Defence Ministry said it had come down in Ghazni Province and that the pilot's remains had been recovered.

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