Philippine fighter jet slams into school

Philippine and American forces are holding exercises in the island of Luzon

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- A Philippine air force fighter jet taking part in war exercises with the United States military exploded in mid-air and crashed into a school north of Manila.

The F-5 jet broke into pieces before plunging into a school compound in Mabalacat town in Pampanga province, killing the pilot and injuring at least 15 people on the ground, officials said.

The school, near Clark Air Base, a former American base on Luzon island, was empty of pupils because of the summer vacation, according to police.

"The pilot is dead and there were people who got hurt. About 10 to 15 of them," Pampanga governor Lito Lapid said on local radio.

"It exploded in the air," Lapid said.

Four school rooms were wrecked by the plane and fire trucks and ambulances were on their way to the crash scene, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Manila.

War games

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The United States and the Philippines are holding military exercises on the main island of Luzon and in the country's south to help the Philippines repel external attacks and counter terrorism.

Some 2,700 American Marines and Seabees are taking part in three weeks of war games in the northern Philippines with 2,900 local forces. Another 1,000 U.S. troops are involved in a six-month counter-terrorism exercise in the southern part of the country.

The two sides rehearsed an amphibious landing on Thursday as part of the exercises and the jet that crashed had provided air cover along with another F-5 and two U.S. F-18s in the landing practice, according to Philippines Lt. Col. Jose Mabanta.

The plane, a Vietnam War-vintage aircraft piloted by Capt. Daniel Policarpio, crashed when returning to base after the exercise. Officials said the cause of the accident was not yet known.

It was the second air crash to mar the exercises.

In February this year, 10 U.S. servicemen were killed when a U.S. Air Force Chinook helicopter crashed into the sea off southern Zamboanga city after ferrying troops to Basilan island, a stronghold of Muslim Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. The cause of the crash was still not known.

The United States has linked the Abu Sayyaf to Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, alleged masterminds of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

-- CNN Producer Jess Liwanag contributed to this report