Egypt fighter jet crashes during exercise, killing pilot

[CAIRO] An Egyptian fighter jet crashed during exercises on Tuesday, killing its pilot, the armed forces said.

"During an armed forces exercise on January 14, 2020, a fighter plane crashed in one of the training areas, leading to the death of its pilot," the military said in a statement on Facebook.

It said it was investigating the cause of the incident.

Another fighter jet crashed in Egypt last December but the pilot managed to eject and parachute to safety.

Egypt's armed forces have several recently purchased American, Russia and French jets.

Earlier Tuesday, the military issued a slick video announcing exercises aimed at quelling militant activity in restive northern Sinai and securing Egypt's borders with Libya and Sudan.

In February 2018, the Egyptian army and police launched a nationwide operation against militants, mainly focused on North Sinai province.

According to the latest army figures, more than 830 suspected militants have since been killed in the region. About 60 security personnel have also been killed.

Cairo has been an ardent supporter of Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar in neighbouring Libya.

Mr Haftar's forces have been waging a months-long offensive to seize the capital Tripoli from a United Nations-recognised unity government.

Mr Haftar left talks in Moscow on Tuesday without signing a peace deal aimed at ending nine months of fighting with the unity government.

AFP