RAF

11 Killed As U.S C-130 Crashes in Eastern Afghanistan

Eleven people, including six US service members, were killed when a US Air Force C-130J transport plane crashed in Afghanistan.

The plane crashed at Jalalabad Airfield in eastern Afghanistan at about midnight local time.

A spokesman for the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan said six US service members who comprised the plane's crew died, along with five civilian passengers.

The US military said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down the plane about nine hours after it crashed.

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

The Taliban often make exaggerated claims and almost always say they were behind coalition aircraft crashes.

There are about 1,000 coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan, including US and Polish forces, as well as about 40,000 Afghan troops, according to Nato.

The US has about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan, although the numbers are expected to go down a bit by the end of the year.