U.S. Air Force pilot crashed in Middle East

U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Monday that a U.S. Air force pilot died on Sunday when an aircraft crashed while returning to its base in the Middle East. Central Command added that the cause of incident involving a F-16 Fighting Falcon is under investigation and emergency responders were still at the scene. A statement said that the plane had taken off shortly before trying to return to its base in the Middle East. It said the crash did not occur in Iraq or Syria and was not combat related. The incident comes amid a U.S.-led air strike campaign in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State forces, which have seized wide swaths of territory in those two countries and declared an Islamic caliphate.