TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Taliban said they had shot down a US military plane in the central Afghan province of Ghazni on Monday, killing all personnel on board.
“The military plane, which was on a US intelligence mission, was shot down in Sado Khel area of Deh Yak district of Ghazni province,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said in a statement, adding that everyone on board, including high ranking officers, had been killed.
Local Taliban have been deployed to protect the crash site, he said.
A US Army spokeswoman declined to comment on the Taliban claim, but video from the crash site circulating on social media appeared to suggest the aircraft was a US Air Force electronic surveillance plane.
Tariq Ghazniwal, a journalist in the area, said that he saw the burning aircraft. In an exchange on Twitter, he told The Associated Press that he saw two bodies and the front of the aircraft was badly burned. He added that the aircraft’s body and tail were hardly damaged.
Images on social media purportedly of the crashed plane showed an aircraft bearing US Air Force markings similar to other E-11A surveillance aircraft photographed by aviation enthusiasts. Visible registration numbers on the plane also appeared to match those aircraft.
Local Afghan officials had said earlier on Monday that a passenger plane from Afghanistan’s Ariana Airlines had crashed in the Taliban-held area of the eastern Ghazni province. However, Ariana Airlines said that none of its planes had crashed in Afghanistan.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Afghanistan also denied reports that the plane was a commercial flight.
“According to our information from the Control Tower and Traffic Regulatory Authority, no commercial airline crash has been recorded. And Ariana Afghan Airlines have reassured us that all their planes are accounted for,” said the organization.
Reuters, AP, and AFP contributed to this story.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
