Official: Remains of 2 US troops recovered from Afghan site

WASHINGTON — A U.S. defence official says the United States has recovered the remains of two American service members killed in the crash of an Air Force plane in Afghanistan.

They were the only two people aboard the Air Force E-11A electronic surveillance aircraft when it went down on Monday in Ghazni province, the official said, speaking Tuesday on the condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement of the recovery. The identities of the two have not been publicly announced, pending notification of their relatives.

The official said the American recovery team met no Taliban resistance in reaching the crash site and said there is no indication that the plane was downed by hostile action.

The Taliban hold much of Ghazni province. Monday’s plane crash there is not expected to derail U.S.-Taliban peace talks if the crash investigation determines, as expected, that it was not the result of hostile action.

Lolita C. Baldor And Robert Burns, The Associated Press