Iran military plane crashes in country's south

State news agency says crash happened during a training mission; military delegation dispatched to crash site for investigation.

Iran's state news agency reports that an Iranian pilot was killed and his co-pilot injured after their military plane crashed in south of the country.

IRNA said Sunday a military delegation has gone to the site of the crash to investigate the reasons behind it.

According to the report, the crash happened during a training mission but there were no details on the type of craft involved.

The country has a history of frequent air accidents, blamed on its aging aircraft and poor maintenance.

In 2005, several commanders of the elite revolutionary Guards were killed in a crash. In 2003, 302 members of the Guard died in another air accident.

In January, an Iranian passenger plane crashed near the northwestern city of Urumiyeh, according to a Red Crescent official.

"At least 70 people were killed and 32 others were injured in the crash," Heidar Heidari told the state news agency IRNA. "The death toll is expected to increase."

The Boeing-727 operated by Iran's national airline crashed shortly before it was to land in the city of Orumiyeh, 700 kilometers (460 miles) northwest of the capital, Tehran, said Abbas Mosayebi, spokesman of the Iranian civil aviation organization, state TV reported.

By The Associated Press and Haaretz Service