By Islamuddin Sajid
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - At least 17 people including two pilots were killed when a Pakistan military aircraft crashed in a suburb of the capital Islamabad suburb on Tuesday morning, according to an announcement by the country's armed forces.
According to the media service of the Pakistani army, the plane was on a routine training flight when it crashed near the Mora Kalu area of Rawalpindi, a garrison town in northeastern Pakistan.
"Aircraft crashed in the built-up area resulting into 12 fatal civilian casualties while 12 got injured," the Inter-Service Public Relation said in a statement, adding that army rescue teams were on-site and that the injured were receiving medical attention.
The two pilots, both of the rank of lieutenant colonel, and other crew members were killed in the crash, the statement added.
In 2016, around 40 people had been killed when a Pakistan International Airline (PIA) plane crashed in the Hazara Division in northwestern Pakistan, while at least 152 passengers were killed earlier in 2010 when a plane of private airline AirBlue crashed in the Margalla Hills near Islamabad while flying from Karachi.