Taliban has claimed responsibility for the Monday plane crash, saying it was a US forces aircraft. The plane went down in an area controlled largely by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the crash killed “lots” of US service members, according to Al Jazeera.

“An aircraft of American occupiers has crashed in Ghazni province,” Mujahid said in a statement in the Pashto language, adding that all crew members onboard were killed.

The Taliban statement on Monday came hours after reports suggested the plane was from state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines.

However, the Afghanistan airline said the rumours were “not true,” adding that “All the flights of Ariana Afghan Airlines have been completed normally,” read a statement on the carrier’s verified Facebook page.

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The Civil Aviation Authority of Afghanistan also denied reports that the plane was the country’s commercial flight.

“According to our information … no commercial airline crash has been recorded. And Ariana Afghan Airlines have reassured us that all their planes are accounted for,” said the organisation.

The spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Sonny Leggett, confirmed that the military plane, a Bombardier E-11A, crashed in the Ghazni province and an investigation of its causes was ongoing.

The Bombardier E-11A is a US Air Force electronic surveillance plane.