BOGOTA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Six members of Colombia's military were killed on Saturday when their plane crashed over a jungle area in the southern part of the country where leftist rebels control wide areas, the government said.

The military is investigating the crash, which happened near the area in Caqueta province where three U.S. anti-drug contractors were kidnapped by the guerrillas in 2003.

Americans Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves are still being held in secret jungle camps by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. They will complete five years in captivity this month.

The United States has spent $5.5 billion over the last seven years to help this Andean country combat the cocaine trade, bolster its rural economy and defeat a four-decade-old communist insurgency. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein, editing by Alan Elsner)

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