US confirms Afghanistan crash but denies plane was shot down by Taliban
- Cause under investigation, but no indication Bombardier E-11A was brought down by enemy fire, US military says in statement
- Taliban had earlier claimed responsibility for incident, saying high-ranking US officers had been on board aircraft
The US military confirmed on Monday that an E-11A aircraft had crashed in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, but disputed claims that the Taliban had brought the military plane down.
Senior Afghan officials said the authorities had rushed local personnel to locate and identify the wreckage, in a mountainous area partly controlled by the Taliban.
“While the cause of crash is under investigation, there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire,” a US military spokesman, Colonel Sonny Leggett, said in a statement.
The military aircraft, built by Bombardier, is used to provide communication capabilities in remote locations.
The military did not say how many were on board or if anyone was killed.
US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that fewer than five people were on the plane when it crashed. One official said that, according to initial information, at least two people were on the plane.