ALGIERS - The pilots of two military aircrafts were killed Monday night when their planes collided in western Algeria, an official statement of the defense ministry said Tuesday.

The two MIG aircrafts were conducting a training operation between the provinces of Oran and Tlemcen before colliding in the western province of Tlemcen, 580 km west of the capital Algiers, local APS news agency quoted the statement as saying.

The defense ministry has formed an investigation panel to look into the circumstances of this accident.

It is the second accident of Algerian military aircrafts this year. In November, a CASA 295 military cargo plane crashed in France, with all its crew members, including five military officers and a representative of the Central Bank of Algeria, killed.