8 killed in cargo plane crash at US air base in E Afghanistan

Eight people have been killed in a civilian cargo plane crash in the US-run Bagram Air Base in eastern Afghanistan near the capital city, Kabul, Press TV reports.

The aircraft crashed on Monday at about 3 p.m., Afghan officials say.

Taliban have claimed that they have brought down the plane.

The cargo plane crashed from a low altitude immediately after it took off from the base, a US military official said.

Afghan intelligence officials have launched an investigation into the incident. They have also arrested two men who placed explosives in their fuel trucks to detonate them inside the US air base.

Earlier on Saturday, four US airmen were killed when their MC-12 spy plane crashed in Afghanistan’s southern province of Zabul.

The Pentagon said the crash of the MC-12 is under investigation.

According to the website icasualties.org, 3,288 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the US-led war began in October 2001.

The increasing number of military casualties in Afghanistan has caused widespread anger in the US and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the Afghan war.

The US-led war in Afghanistan removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan, despite the presence of about over 100,000 US-led troops.