MADRID, Aug. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- King Juan Carlos on Saturday held astate funeral for 17 soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

    Over 1,000 people, including other members of the royal family,Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his cabinet members and relatives of the dead, attended the funeral.

    The Spanish government has announced Saturday and Sunday to be days of national mourning and ordered flags on government and military buildings to be flown at half-staff.

    US President George W. Bush and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sent condolences to the Spanish government.

    The remains of the soldiers, accompanied by Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono, were flown back to Spain on Thursday.

    The helicopter with the soldiers on board crashed when they were carrying out an operation on Tuesday near the western Afghan city of Herat.

    First results of the investigation showed that flying too low and strong gusts of wind had forced the helicopter down.

    Spain has deployed troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force since May 2002 with the basis in Herat. At present, Spain has 850 troops there.

    The crash on Thursday was the second serious accident Spanish peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan have experienced.

    In May 2003, all 62 Spanish peacekeepers returning home from Afghanistan died when their plane crashed in northwest Turkey.

    Spain has 2,000 troops deployed overseas in UN- and NATO-led missions. Enditem

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