Paris (ANTARA News/Reuters) - A French fighter jet crashed in western Afghanistan on Tuesday due to a technical error, but both pilots were rescued after ejecting from the plane, a French military spokesman said.

The Mirage jet crashed after engine failure, the spokesman said, adding it was the first French military aircraft to crash in Afghanistan since the launch of operations in 2001.

"The accident is not due to enemy fire ... but probably an engine failure," Thierry Burkhard said.

(Uu.B002)

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