Business Insider – by Bill Bostock
A US Air Force surveillance plane crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Monday.
A US military official told Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson it was a Bombardier E-11A airborne communications plane.
U.S. military official says Air Force E-11A airborne communications plane crashed in eastern Afghanistan Monday with “less than 5” on board.
Plane is military version of Bombardier Global Express business jet.
It’s not clear if anyone survived. No sign U.S. plane shot down.
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) January 27, 2020
It crashed in Taliban-controlled territory at 1:10 p.m. local time.
It was unclear how many people were on the plane or whether there were any survivors.
A statement from a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that all passengers, which he claimed included high-ranking CIA officers, were killed.
#طالبانو د غزني پېښې مسئوليت رسما ومانه او وايي:
په #غزني کې د امریکايي اشغالګرو یوه الوتکه رانسکوره شوه، ګڼ لوړ رتبه افسران په کې ووژل شول#Afghanistan #Taliban #Alfath #Ghazni
https://t.co/9TpIYUL2pD pic.twitter.com/LqtvMUJl2E— Badr-ul-huda Media 'بدرالھدی (@Badr_ul_huda) January 27, 2020
Tariq Ghazniwal, a local journalist, told The Associated Press he saw two bodies lying beside the aircraft.
#AFG. These are said to be (unconfirmed) pictures of the plane crashed in #DehYak (#Taliban controlled area) district of #Ghazni province.
Local officials say the crashed aircraft is belonging to any foreign airlines, so far no word on the number of casualties.
Pix: SM pic.twitter.com/YsSsO5cN40— Ab Qadir Sediqi (@qadir_sediqi) January 27, 2020
The plane was at first thought to be an Ariana Afghan Airlines commercial aircraft.
Arif Noori, a spokesman for the governor of the Ghazni province, initially told Reuters that a Boeing plane belonging to the airline crashed in the Deh Yak district of the province.
Aviation experts and sleuths combed purported footage and images of the crash on social media and found that the plane was a US military Bombardier E-11A.
The US military later confirmed their suspicions.
The E-11A is used for electronic surveillance over Afghanistan, according to the AP.
Video #American aircraft shutdwaned in #Ghazni #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/2Wm9pImtBi
— Tariq Ghazniwal (@TGhazniwal) January 27, 2020
Ariana Afghan Airlines had denied reports of its involvement in the crash in a Facebook post.
SAM missle USA gave them to use on Russians!
Most likely an old Strela-2 MANPAD made by the Soviets. Lots of them in Afghanistan
Afghanistan The empire graveyard
Bam !
That last photo looks so fake it gave me.pause. Spent thousands of hours around us military jets. That looks fake as a politician.