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Taliban Claims It Shot Down U.S. Surveillance Plane Flying Over Afghanistan

(Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Phillip Nieto Contributor
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U.S. military officials allegedly confirmed Monday that a surveillance plane crashed in Eastern Afghanistan after reports the jet was shot down by the Taliban.

Afghan government official Arift Noori confirmed to CBS News that bodies of two pilots were found at the crash site. The official believes the plane was flying between the southern city of Kandahar and the capital Kabul. (RELATED: Report: John Bolton Undercuts Trump’s Main Ukraine Defense In Book Manuscript)

Fox News Reporter Lucas Tomlinson confirmed the downed Air Force jet was an E-11A communications plane.


Pictures and videos of  the E-11 began circulating online, hours later members of the Taliban took credit for it’s downing.


Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Al-Jaazera that the crash led to the deaths of “lots” of U.S. service members stating, “An aircraft of American occupiers has crashed in Ghazni province.”

US Central Command’s spokeswoman Major Beth Riordan declined to confirm or deny the Taliban claims, according to Al-Jaazera.

Initially reports suggested that the crashed jet belonged to commercial airline Ariana Afghan until the companies CEO issued a statement.

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