The US military has confirmed one of its planes crashed in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni on Monday, but disputed claim that the aircraft had been brought down by the enemy fire. Taliban fighters who control half of Afghanistan said, they brought the plane down, but did not say how, according to reports.
"While the cause of crash is under investigation, there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire," US military spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett said in a statement.
Leggett gave no information on casualties in the crash.
Pictures and a video on social media purportedly from the crash site showed what could be the remains of a Bombardier E-11A aircraft. The Reuters news agency could not verify the images.
Afghan forces were sent to the site immediately after receiving the report of the crash in the Deh Yak district, but were ambushed by Taliban fighters, Ghazni provincial police chief Khalid Wardak told Reuters.
Wardak said the forces subsequently received an order to retreat and airborne action is to be taken instead.
Confirming the reports of clashes, Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said Afghan forces backed by US military had tried to capture the area around the crashed aircraft.
He told Reuters that the Taliban would allow a rescue team access to recover bodies from the crash site.
"Taliban fighters on the ground counted six bodies at the site of the US plane crash," Mujahid said. (Source: Al Jazeera)
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