The anti-government armed militants in
southeastern Afghanistan managed to open fire on an advanced US fighter
jet, forcing it to jettison its fuel tanks and munitions before
returning to base, it has been reported.
The incident took place six days ago in
the relatively Paktia province where anti-government armed militants
belonging to Taliban and Haqqani network are actively operating in a
number of its districts.
According to the military officials
cited in a report by AFP, “The pilot jettisoned two fuel tanks and three
munitions before safely returning to base. The pilot received no
injuries and safely returned to base.”
The F-16 fighter jet was flying over
Syed Karam district when it came under the enemy fire with photographs
shared on social media purportedly showing a group of insurgents
standing near the fuel tanks and munitions of the aircraft.
The photographs were first shared on
Twitter late on Tuesday night, indicating two ‘drop-tanks’ and
air-to-ground missile with two other bombs.
The Taliban group claimed a fighter jet
was shot down by the group’s fighters but the coalition forces rejected
the report as baseless.
The incident took place a day after a
NATO helicopter crashed in capital Kabul leaving five personnel of the
Resolute Support mission dead.
It also followed a day after an aircraft of the Afghan National Army crashed in central Bamyan province of Afghanistan.