Conflicting accounts over mysterious plane crash in Afghanistan

The United States’ military said an E-11A aircraft crashed in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, in a mountainous area partly controlled by the Taliban.
However, the military rejected claims that the Taliban had brought the military plane down: “While the cause of crash is under investigation, there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire”, a US military spokesman said. A US official told the media that the plane went down because of mechanical problems.
Afghan officials said the authorities had rushed their personnel to locate the wreckage. They denied that any of their aircraft are missing. NATO has yet to officially comment on the crash.
“According to our information from the Control Tower and Traffic Regulatory Authority, no commercial airline crash has been recorded. And Ariana Afghan Airlines have reassured us that all their planes are accounted for,” said the Civil Aviation Authority of Afghanistan.
“An aircraft of American occupiers has crashed in Ghazni province,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, adding to the confusion. He also said that all the crew members onboard had been killed.
The crash comes as the Taliban and the US have been negotiating on ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan. The negotiations have been interrupted at least twice after Taliban attacks on US military personnel in September and December.