RAF fighter jet crashes in Afghanistan

A British Tornado fighter jet crashed at a major Nato base in southern Afghanistan yesterday, officials said, the third aircraft mishap in as many days as foreign forces press their new offensives against the Taliban.

With military casualties rising, Afghanistan's growing insurgency is also taking a heavy toll on civilians. In the remote west, 12 Afghan traders were killed when their van hit a roadside bomb most likely meant for Afghan or foreign troops.

Nato spokesman Captain Glen Parent said the Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 aircraft crashed shortly after take-off at the sprawling Kandahar Air Field, the main military base for foreign troops in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban.

Nato officials said the crash was not the result of an attack by insurgents. However, Taliban spokeman Qari Muhammad Yousuf said the insurgents had shot down a Nato aircraft near the Kandahar base, killing several soldiers. The Taliban routinely claim responsibility for downing US and Nato aircraft, usually with inflated casualty numbers.

July has become the deadliest month for foreign troops in the eight-year-old war after thousands of US Marines and British soldiers launched major new offensives in the Taliban heartland of Helmand, adjacent to Kandahar.

On Sunday, a civilian Mi-8 transport helicopter crashed at the Kandahar base, killing 16 of the 20 people on board, the second fatal crash involving a Soviet-era helicopter in the south in less than a week.

In the east, a US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed on Saturday, with both crew members killed.

In western Farah province, witnesses and officials said 12 men were killed and five wounded as a van carrying traders drove along a road linking two districts on Sunday.