Military jet crashes in Iran, killing three

A U.S.-built F5 jet in use by the Iranian military crashed into the wall of a school in the northwestern city of Tabriz on Monday, killing the two pilots and a person on the ground, Reuters reported on Monday, citing Iranian state TV.

The school was closed at the time of the crash just before 9 a.m. (0530 GMT), army spokesman Shahin Taqi-Khani said.

He said technical failure appeared to be the cause of the crash, but that an investigation was underway.

The pilot and a trainee pilot were killed, as well as a civilian passing by in a car, he said.

The TV showed fire fighters extinghising the blaze.

Experts say Iran has a poor air safety record, with repeated crashes, many involving U.S.-built aircraft bought before the 1979 Islamic revolution.