Bombing blunder killed US marine

B52s are the workhorses of the US Air Force

Bombs from a B-52 aircraft killed one marine and injured eight others during a training exercise in the African state of Djibouti, the US military has confirmed.

The dead marine has been identified as Captain Seth Michaud, a 27-year-old naval aviator from Hudson, Massachusetts.

Seven other injured servicemen are said to be in a "stable" condition at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany.

Two helicopters were also destroyed in the incident, which occurred on the country's northern coast on on Sunday.

American operations in the Horn of Africa began last year as part of the "war on terrorism" in a region that has proved a flashpoint for militant attacks.

The area of operations includes Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen.

Military specialists suggest the B-52 bomber would have flown from a US base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, as planes of its size cannot land in Djibouti.