F-15 down in Afghanistan; 2 crew dead - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

F-15 down in Afghanistan; 2 crew dead

KABUL — A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed early Saturday in central Afghanistan, killing the two crew members, the U.S. military said.

A statement by the Air Force Central Command said the crash was not due to hostile fire, and a board of officers would be convened to determine the cause. Names of the crew members were not released.

No fighter jets have crashed in Afghanistan in years. Militants are able to shoot down helicopters with rockets, but are not known to have the anti-aircraft weaponry necessary to bring down a high-flying jet.

The U.S. statement did not say where the crash happened. Afghan authorities said the plane went down in the Nawur district of Ghazni province — a peaceful area populated by the ethnic Hazara minority.

Mohammed Qasim Naziri, the deputy district chief, said the crash site was between two villages in a desert surrounded by mountains about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of the town of Nawur.

He said local people notified police of the crash but by the time authorities reached the site U.S. troops had surrounded the area and barred Afghan authorities from approaching the wreckage.