At 1:10 PM, a US Air Force E-11A was brought down over Taliban-controlled airspace, and crashed in Ghazni Province. Shortly thereafter, the Taliban issued a statement saying they had shot the plane down.
Local reporters in Ghazni say they saw at least two bodies at the site, though others said as many as five were seen. One reporter also said a “high-ranking CIA member” was among the slain, though no further details were confirmed on that.
The US, which only started commenting over 10 hours after the apparent shootdown, said that no more than five were aboard the plane. Some reports in Ghazni, lending credence to the two killed report, said Taliban fighters were searching the nearest village for potential survivors.
US Air Force officials promised to investigate the matter, but said they had “no indication” the plane was shot down. This may simply be because the plane is in enemy-controlled territory, and they’ve not been able to examine the wreckage, beyond photographs and video evidence.
The E-11A is a communications plane, used primarily to extend radio signals and other communications for US troops on the ground. Officials say that such planes are meant to constantly be in the sky over such areas, which may make them appealing targets for the Taliban.
Jihadi Julian Röpcke of Bild is already insinuating that Iran and/or Russia must have given the Taliban the missile that shot this plane down. Just in case the “accidental crash” cover story fails to stand up, say if the Taliban presents the wreckage as proof.
That may turn out to be true. Somebody is helping Yemeni highlanders with missile and drone technology. At some point, Taliban and Kabul government may tire of “negotiations”, as the only objective is to string them along , and eventually use Afghanistan as another front against Iran.
This particular plane was chosen due to its ability to operate at high altitude. Its function per Wiki was to operate as a radio relay a kind of quasi-satellite. If it was hit by a missile at operating altitude it was something like a Patriot or an S300 these are big big things not donkey portable. If the Talib brought it down I would bet more on a bomb snuck onboard.
According the Veterans Today and other sources, one of the KIA on that jet was none other than Michael D’Andrea, head of CIA operations in Iran and who orchestrated the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani. Taliban intelligence has good sources.
Wow! So maybe then a missile from Iran? That is a little embarrassing for the regime as the stated point of the hit was to calm stuff down. Still think a bomb was more likely as it is less escalatory.
John I don’t know. You can bet that the official military findings will place the blame for the crash on bad weather, pilot error or mechanical error.
Photos of the plane show it as pretty much intact. Argues against an explosive type event.
Regardless of the cause the assassination was successful. five dead CIA spooks is a pretty damn good day.
Is that the exact total?
Or, it’s not healthy to conduct high level assasination. Didn’t seal team 6 meet the same fate ? Maybe it’s the cia marketing dept method of keeping embarrassing book deals from happening.
If they’re smart it would be someone else’s missile, Russian perhaps. There are some floating around, I believe.
Media and Washington is really downplaying the entire incident claiming no CIA were killed and only 2 U.S. soldiers died. Many conflicting reports are emerging.
NY Times is not running the story. I did see a CBS YouTube video.
I guess the NY Times is just going to ignore the story.
WA PO headline calls it a “crash”.
Well, it is a crash. After the missile hit it, it crashed.
A 20 year war is 20 years of hell.
hahahaha
kids, can you spell b-l-o-w-b-a-c-k
I knew you could
Go, Team Taliban. Resist & repel ZATO invaders.
Word is that Michael D’Andrea, aka Ayatollah Mike, was on that plane.
Oh man, this guy was huge in terms of a “silo of knowledge”. Losing him is a devastating blow to the CIA as an organization. Just check out the company his wife is the board member of: https://www.currimjee.com/about-currimjee-group/currimjee-team.html
Losing Soleimani was a huge blow to people who looked up to his presence as inspiration. Operationally, the IRCG isn’t affected that much.
Losing a guy like D’Andrea…it’ll be a while before all the pies he had his fingers in even become known to his bosses…
Edit: The Taliban’s original statement in Pashto actually does not claim direct responsibility, so it’s not clear what brought the E11A BACN down or what the circumstances were. If it was shot down by the Taliban at what’s supposed to be its normal operating altitude, this would be a game changer. Most manpads can only reach up to about 3500 ft. A BACN would need to be much higher than that to operate.
Edit 2: Sure looks like D’Andrea’s physique to me. Warning Graphic Photos
If D’Andrea converted to Islam for his wife, as some say, then he was probably considered unreliable over the long term.
Another CIA guy was reportedly killed in the Bagdad Embassy cafeteria rocket strike.
Seems to me, some loose ends are being snipped. Possibly even a renewed purge of Arabists.
Not unlike the Seal Team Six helicopter accident that killed many involved with killing a Bin Ladan in Abbotabad back in 2011.
Iran has excellent contacts with the Taliban and also excellent MANPADS. The high ranking CIA member, it now emerges according to various sources online, is known as non other than Mike De Andrea, the Dark Prince or Ayatollah Mike, nicknames he earned as the Central Intelligence Agency officer who oversaw the “hunt” for Osama bin Laden, the American drone strike campaign and the man involved in the assassination of Imad Mughniye, Hezbollah. He was killed alongside two US airforce pilots and two other CIA figures.
The US commander of the Assad base in Iraq is also rumoured to be dead (from the Iranian retaliation). US would of course never confirm any of that (Andrea and the commander could always come out and deny it) but it suggests that Iran is very much involved, have powerful allies (Russia in particular in this case, Pompass will get the message) and is more sophisticated than the US could ever imagine.
Good catch and, in addition to the successful hits on US’s airbases in Iraq, a suitable retaliation for General Soleimani i might add.
quite possible –
& hope it was one of the CIA’s top Princes of Darkness, Death and Destruction
Ah, that explains some stuff I was reading in translation (through a VPN because it’s being blocked apparently).
Except, neither the Taliban or Iran are that good.
Methinks some housecleaning and loose-ends snipping is going down over the Solemani/Ukraine flight 752 double hits.
The rocket strike that hit the U.S. embassy cafeteria supposedly hit a top CIA guy too, but finding a reliable link for that story is elusive.
As good Muslims would say, “Alhamdulillah”–i.e. Hallelujah, i.e. Praise be to God
🙂
The top CIA official involved in the Solemeni assassination was killed in that U.S. spy plane crash in Afghanistan yesterday.
https://southfront.org/top-cia-officer-behind-soleimani-assassination-died-in-e-11a-crash-in-afghanistan-med
If true, that will be very interesting. If he was specifically targeted as a measured response to the Soleimani killing (as opposed to just being in the wrong plane at the wrong time), even more interesting.
The top CIA officer involved in the Solemeni assassination died in that U.S. spy plane crash in Afghanistan yesterday.
I am not so sure this is true anymore. Perhaps time will tell? Many conflicting reports. This is big whatever the outcome.
Many conflicting stories out there. No one story is the same. There is a lot of speculation. Main stream media is downplaying this embarrassing incident.
Interesting news, but its more likely that the U.S./Israel snipped a loose end on the Solemani/Flight 752 op.
Neither the Taliban nor Iran are good enough to take down a top CIA man, unless like Soleimani, a head was delivered on a platter.
Back in 2011, several members of Seal Team Six, believed to be part of the Bin Laden raid, just happened to be killed by a lucky RPG strike on their Chinook chopper.
This Afghan plane downing, and the Baghdad embassy cafeteria rocket strike that allegedly killed another CIA top guy, kind of have that same Deep State taking care of business vibe.