US fighter plane crashes in Turkey

The no-fly zones were set up after the Gulf War

A US air force F-16 fighter plane has crashed in south-eastern Turkey.

The aircraft was on its way to patrol the no-fly zone over northern Iraq when it went down.

It had taken off from Incirlik air base in southern Turkey and crashed near the town of Diyarbakir, about half way between Incirlik and the Iraqi border.

The pilot, Lieutenant Michael A Nelson Jr, was rescued after parachuting to safety.

"We saw a pilot jump out with a parachute, then the plane smashed into the ground with a massive crash

Abdulselam Ozkan, eyewitness

The Turkish news agency Anatolia said Lieutenant Nelson Jr was taken to a hospital in the city of Batman.

A Turkish military statement said the plane had suffered engine failure and police were examining the wreckage.

Major Ed Loomis, of the US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, said an inquiry would be set up to investigate the cause of the crash.

Anatolia said an eyewitness, Abdulselam Ozkan, saw the crash happen.

"We saw a pilot jump out with a parachute, then the plane smashed into the ground with a massive crash," he said.

Iraqi threat

It is the first time a US plane has gone down enforcing the no-fly zones, which were set up after the Gulf War in 1991.

Two no-fly zones were created by the US, Britain and France.

One zone is to the north of the 36th parallel, with a second to the south of the 33rd parallel.

About 50 US warplanes, including F-15 and F-16 fighters, are based in Incirlik.

Iraq refuses to recognise the zones and has frequently targeted Western aircraft on patrol.

American military officials recently expressed concern over what they perceived to be a growing threat of a plane being shot down by Iraqi air defences.