SAFFORD, Arizona: An Iraqi student jet fighter pilot was killed when an F-16 jet crashed during a training mission in southeastern Arizona, authorities said Wednesday.
The Iraqi air force identified the pilot as Capt. Noor Faleh Rassan Al-Khazali, but it didn’t list an age or hometown.
Al-Khazali was killed Tuesday when his Fighting Falcon jet went down in the southern Arizona desert during what an Arizona Air National Guard official called a routine training mission. The US Air Force has activated a team to investigate the crash about 129 km northwest of Tucson, the Air Guard’s 1st Lt. Lacey Roberts of the 162nd Wing said.
The Iraqi Defense Ministry said it will join in the investigation.
Roberts could not immediately say what type of training was being conducted. The F-16 is used in both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.
Al-Khazali’s death was the second involving an Iraqi pilot flying an F-16 in Arizona in recent years.
Roberts said the plane belonged to the Iraqi air force and that the training mission was being conducted in conjunction with the 162nd Wing, which is based at Tucson International Airport.
The jet crashed in desert terrain, leaving a crater and scattered debris, Graham County Undersheriff Carl “Jeff” McCormies said.
The US military is training Iraqi pilots to fly F-16s at the request of Iraq’s government, Roberts said.
In July 2015, an Iraqi brigadier general flying from the 162nd died when his F-16, a newer model recently delivered to the Iraqi air force, crashed during night training near Douglas.
In January 2016, a Taiwanese pilot on a training flight from Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix was killed when his F-16 went down in Yavapai County.
Iraqi student pilot killed in Arizona F-16 crash identified as Capt. Al-Khazali
Iraqi student pilot killed in Arizona F-16 crash identified as Capt. Al-Khazali
UN chief expresses deep concern over escalating Iran-US tensions
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for diplomatic engagement to resolve differences between the United States and Iran amid a surge in military activities and rhetoric across the Middle East, his spokesperson said on Friday.
“We are very concerned about the heightened rhetoric we’re seeing around the region by the heightened military activities, war games or just military, increased military, naval presence in the region. And we encourage both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue to engage in diplomacy in order to settle the differences,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN secretary-general.
The call for restraint follows a formal letter delivered on Thursday by Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council. Iravani emphasized that Iran is prepared to exercise its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, promising a decisive and proportionate response to any military aggression.
Iravani further warned that in such a scenario, all bases, facilities, and assets belonging to hostile forces in the Middle East would constitute legitimate targets for Iranian defensive measures. The envoy added that the United States would bear full and direct responsibility for any unforeseen and uncontrollable consequences resulting from further provocations.
