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Washington (CNN) – Two bodies were recovered from the US military plane that crashed on Monday in the Afghan province of Ghazni, a CNN defense official said, adding that military personnel who arrived at the site also disabled sensitive equipment.
The latest reports indicate that there was a distress call from the crew regarding some kind of problem with the aircraft, the official added.
Later on Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed in a statement that the remains of two staff members had been recovered.
“The force also recovered what is considered the flight data recorder of the aircraft. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, however, there is no indication that the accident was caused by enemy fire. The remains were found near the accident site, treated with dignity and respect from the local Afghan community, according to their culture. US forces destroyed the wreckage of the plane, ”the statement said.
The Pentagon said the names of the deceased would be retained until family members have been notified.
The News arrives in the middle of an ongoing investigation to determine what caused the accident. A spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan said Monday that “there is no evidence” that the plane was shot down by enemy fire.
“An American E-11A bomber crashed today in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. While the cause of the accident is under investigation, there is no indication that the accident was caused by enemy fire. We will provide additional information as it becomes available, ”said Colonel Sonny Leggett in a tweet.
“The Taliban’s claims that other planes crashed are false,” he added.
There were multiple reports of a plane crash in the region, which is largely controlled by the Taliban and is located southwest of the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that he was “aware of the situation,” but gave no further details, and said “he has nothing more to report at this time.” Esper said the Pentagon will update the media when the “issue” develops.
The E-11A is used to communicate soldiers on the ground with their barracks and has been previously described by Air Force pilots as “WiFi in the sky.”
It operates as part of the Battlefield Airborne Communications (BACN) Node of the Air Force, which was developed in response to communication problems during Operation Red Wings, a US military mission. UU. in Kunar province, Afghanistan, in 2005, according to a press release published by the service in 2018.
The 2005 operation involved a four-sea Navy SEAL reconnaissance patrol that was compromised. Three of the SEALs were killed and a Chinook MH-47 helicopter carrying a rescue force to extract the patrol was shot down, killing the eight SEALs and the eight Army special operations team on board.
“Due to the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan and the lack of existing communication infrastructure, serious communication challenges prevented the four-man SEAL patrol from establishing effective contact with its combat operations center, leaving them vulnerable to attacks that claimed the life of 19 members of the special operations forces, ”he said.
Between 12,000 and 13,000 US soldiers currently serve in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission led by U.S to train, help and advise Afghan forces.
There have been more than 2,400 deaths of US military since the beginning of the longest US war in 2001. Last year was the deadliest in five years for the United States in Afghanistan, with 23 military killed during operations in the country in 2019.
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