The spokesman of Egypt's armed forces says a military aircraft crashed near the border with Libya because of a technical failure while on a counterterrorism mission, killing four crew members and wounding two.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Samir says on his Facebook page that the aircraft crashed Thursday during a joint air and ground mission southeast of the Siwa oasis, near the border with Libya. He did not say what kind of aircraft it was.

He said the troops successfully destroyed four vehicles belonging to alleged terrorists and seized five others.

Egypt has seen a wave of attacks mainly targeting security forces after ousting Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. Neighboring Libya has slid into chaos since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Edited by Ahram Online