U.S. fighter jet crashes in Afghanistan, 2 dead

U.S. fighter jet crashes in Afghanistan, 2 dead

www.reuters.com

KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, the U.S. Air Force said, and a military source said both crew members on board were killed.

The Air Force said in a statement that the crash, which took place at 3:15 a.m. local time (2245 GMT on Friday), was not due to hostile action.

"There is an active investigation going on at the site at this time," Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Reid Christopherson said by telephone from Qatar, the main base of U.S. air operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Mohammad Qasim Nazar

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If the Taliban shot the F15 down, then does that suggest they have heat seeking rockets/missiles? Did we know they had this already.... I thought the Taliban wouldn't be able to afford to buy equipment like that from the Russian's or Chinese or Pakistanis. Or even the N.Korean's or Iranian's. The drug trades in Afghanistan must be highly profitable.

More likely a Taliban exagerration

The Taliban generally claim responsibility for all Western military air crashes in Afghanistan, however they are not known to possess missiles that can shoot down supersonic jets.

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[edit on 18-7-2009 by john124]

Reading the article, the other side claimed to have shot down a transport. As they don't seem to know what they claimed to have shot down, it sounds like they are trying to falsely take credit.

Chances are this is mechanical failure, weather, pilot error, or a combination thereof. It could even be a bird strike.

It does not take a SAM to bring down an F-15. There is always the chance of the million to one burst hitting the right place. It would not surprise me if certain countries are funneling MANPADS systems into Afghanistan.