Eleven people, including six American service members, were killed in Afghanistan on Thursday when their transport plane crashed while taking off from an airport, according to a statement from U.S. officials.
“An Air Force C-130J assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, crashed October 2 at approximately 12:19 a.m. at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan,” the statement said.
{mosads}The American service members killed were the crew aboard the transport aircraft.
Five passengers killed in the crash were civilian contractors working with Resolute Support, a NATO-led mission to train Afghan security forces.
The cause of the crash has not been determined, and an investigation is underway.
Officials said there was no hostile activity in the area at the time of the incident.
—Updated 9:33 p.m.