Anti-aircraft rocket (illustration)
Anti-aircraft rocket (illustration)Screenshot

The Taliban claimed early Friday morning that it had shot down an American C-130 military transport plane in eastern Afghanistan.

NATO had previously reported the crash, revealing that 11 people were killed including six US soldiers, but did not release details as to the cause of the fatal crash, reports AFPUS Army Col. Brian Tribus said the non-soldiers were civilian contractors.

"Our mujahideen have shot down a four-engine US aircraft in Jalalabad," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter. "Based on credible information 15 invading forces and a number of puppet troops were killed."

Taliban has frequently inflated its claims regarding casualties in attacks it takes credit for.

The crash comes in context of a campaign by Afghan forces supported by NATO special forces and US airstrikes to recapture the northern city of Kunduz. Afghan forces have made it to the center of the city, which the Taliban captured on Monday.

Jalalabad, where the crash occurred, has often been attacked given its strategic significance in controlling a key transport route from the Pakistani border to Kabul.

NATO did not indicate that terrorists had indeed downed the plane, but Jalalabad airport which houses a central army base has been attacked before.

Around 10,000 US troops remain among the NATO forces still in Afghanistan, after the majority of NATO troops were withdrawn from the country last year. The remaining military presence is focusing on training Afghan forces to secure the country.