Military jet crashes in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 20 (UPI) -- A military jet crashed in southern Afghanistan Monday, the latest such crash involving coalition aircraft in three days, authorities said.

Lt. Col. Paul Kolken said the crew members ejected safely and were being treated for their injuries, CNN reported. The British Ministry of Defense said the plane, a GR4 Tornado, crashed on takeoff at Kandahar Airport injuring two Royal Air Force crewmen, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The plane went down shortly after takeoff from an airfield in Kandahar, Kolken said, adding insurgents had been ruled out in Monday's crash.

A U.S. fighter jet went down Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, killing its two-person crew.

NATO officials said a military helicopter made a hard landing Sunday, injuring at least some on board, CNN reported.

None of the aircraft were shot down, said the International Security Assistance Force, NATO's mission Afghanistan. The organization did not announce the causes of any of the crashes.

Earlier in July, two other military helicopters crashed, killing at least eight international military personnel.