MADRID, Aug. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono Wednesday insisted on Spain's military presence in Afghanistan, after 17 soldiers died in a plane crash last week.

    Bono adopted this attitude after some legislators asked the government to reconsider the Spanish military presence in Afghanistan.

    The Spanish military presence at the Afghan base of Herat, under the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)and the United Nations, is "necessary," said Bono when telling theCongress Defense Commission.

    Bono read out the names of the 17 to "pay a tribute they deserve," and also others who lost their lives in various international peace missions.

    The main opposition Popular Party (PP) however criticized the "theatricality" of the minister.

    Political alliance of the communist majority the United Left (IU) made a call in the cabinet to reconsider the participation ofSpanish troops in international missions, while the minor parties supported the government's decision.

    According to initial investigation, the crew lost control of the aircraft after passing a hill close to the Herat base in west Afghanistan and killed 17 on board last week.

    The incident is the second most fatal for Spanish peacekeeping troops abroad in recent years. In 2003, 62 soldiers from the Iberian country died when their plane crashed in Turkey on their way back to their country after a mission in Afghanistan.

    Opinion polls show that most Spanish oppose the presence of their troops in Iraq. However, opinion is controversial on the presence in Afghanistan.

    Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq soon after taking office in April 2004. Enditem