U.S. plane crashes in Taliban territory

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The wreckage of a U.S. military aircraft that crashed in Ghazni province in Afghanistan on Monday Associated Press/Photo by Saifullah Maftoon

Taliban insurgents on Tuesday clashed with Afghan forces trying to reach the site of a U.S. military plane crash. The Bombardier E-11A aircraft went down on Monday in Afghanistan’s central Ghazni province, a Taliban stronghold. The insurgent group claimed responsibility, but there is no indication enemy fire downed the electronic surveillance plane, said Col. Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in the country.

Were there any casualties? An anonymous U.S. Department of Defense official said the United States recovered the remains of the two American service members on the plane. The military has not identified them publicly, pending notification of their relatives. U.S.-Taliban peace talks may continue if the crash proves to be accidental. On Tuesday, Taliban insurgents killed 11 people in an attack on a police base in the northern Baghlan province.

Dig deeper: Read my report in World Tour on fear and unrest in Afghanistan after U.S.-Taliban peace talks broke down in September.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks