An Egyptian Air Force pilot was killed when his fighter jet crashed during a "training activity," the Egyptian military said
An Egyptian Air Force pilot was killed when his fighter jet crashed in North Sinai on Tuesday, January 14, the military said.
The Egyptian military spokesperson said the plane crashed during an air force training exercise in "one of the training areas," adding that the cause of the crash is yet to be determined.
The spokesperson did not specify the type of aircraft that crashed. Egypt's large air force has a range of fighter jet aircraft in its inventory, including F-16 Fighting Falcons, Alpha Jets, and Mirages, all reportedly used for training.
Amaq, Islamic State's propaganda arm, announced the crash of an Egyptian armed forces F-16 in the village of Shebaneh, south of Rafah in north Sinai. Amaq did not mention a possible cause of the crash and did not say ISIS brought down the aircraft..
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, a defunct Islamist militant group active in northern Sinai, pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2014, dubbing itself as ISIS's Sinai province.
The Egyptian government regularly touts successes against the Islamist fighters in Sinai, but the region is officially off-limits to independent monitors and journalists.
