US military plane crashes in Afghanistan

A plane which US officials described as a small US military aircraft crashed in a Taliban-controlled area of central Afghanistan yesterday, and the insurgent group claimed to have brought it down.

The US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there were no indications so far that the plane had been brought down by enemy activity. One of the officials said there were believed to be fewer than 10 people on board.

Pictures and a video on social media purportedly from the crash site showed what could be the remains of a Bombardier E-11A aircraft.

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.

Journalists filmed Afghan soldiers heading toward the snow-covered mountains where the plane crashed in Ghazni province.

“The plane which was on an intelligence mission, was brought down in Sado Khel area of Deh Yak district of Ghazni province,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban in a statement.

Mujahid did not say how fighters had brought the plane down. He said the crew on board included high ranking US officers. A senior defense official denied that senior American officers were involved.

The Taliban control large parts of Ghazni province. The militant group, which has been waging a war against US- led forces since 2001, often exaggerates enemy casualty figures.

Civilian airline Ariana Afghan Airlines denied initial reports that it was the owner of the plane.

“It does not belong to Ariana because the two flights managed by Ariana today, from Herat to Kabul and Herat to Delhi, are safe,” its acting CEO, Mirwais Mirzakwal, told Reuters.

Two officials from Ghazni province said the crashed aircraft appeared to belong to a foreign company.

“There is no exact information on casualties and the name of the airline,” Ghazni provincial governor Wahidullah Kaleemzai told private broadcaster Tolo News earlier on Monday.

Dozens of private entities operate planes and helicopters across Afghanistan to move military contractors and aid.

Earlier, three government officials said the plane was operated by Ariana Afghan Airlines, but its acting CEO Mirwais Mirzakwal denied those reports.

“It does not belong to Ariana because the two flights managed by Ariana today from Herat to Kabul and Herat to Delhi are safe,” Mirzakwal said.

A senior official in Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s office in Kabul said an aircraft had crashed near Ghazni province and authorities were still seeking details from the site in the Sado Khel area of Deh Yak district of Ghazni province about 1:10 p.m. local time (0840 GMT).Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group which is currently in peace talks with the US, said the crash killed ‘lots’ of service personnel without saying what he believes caused the crash.

Afghan officials initially said the plane was a Boeing passenger aircraft belonging to stateowned Ariana Airlines, though the airline subsequently denied these reports. 

  Now, video from Taliban-affiliated journalist Tariq Ghazniwal has emerged showing the burning remains of a jet lying in the snow as several people stand around filming.

Whilst most of the jet is a charred wreck, a USAF symbol is clearly visible on an engine attached to the tail fin of the plane. 

The plane could be a Bombardier E-11A aircraft, which the US military uses for electronic surveillance over Afghanistan. 

US Army Maj. Beth Riordan, a spokeswoman for US Central Command, said that it remained unclear whose aircraft was involved in the crash.

  Arif Noori, a spokesperson for the province’s governor, said he estimated there were around 100 bodies on the ground and officials were looking for others.

  Difficult to identify bodies

The damage was so extensive it was difficult to identify the bodies, he added.

‘The only thing we can say is 385 is written in the wreckage and we don’t know which country or company it belongs to,’ he said.

‘There has been an airline crash but it does not belong to Ariana because the two flights managed by Ariana today from Herat to Kabul and Herat to Delhi are safe,’ CEO Mirwais Mirzakwal said.

The mountainous Ghazni province sits in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains and is bitterly cold in winter.

The crash comes amid skyhigh tensions in the Middle East following the US drone strike which killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani earlier this month.