A U.S. plane in Afghanistan was struck by small-arms fire over Afghanistan last week, forcing it to jettison some of its munitions, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.
The F-16 was able to land safely after the incident on Oct. 13, said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
“The small-arms fire did affect one of the aircraft’s stabilizers and cause damage to one of the munitions it was carrying. As a precautionary measure, it jettisoned two of its fuel tanks, three of its munitions before safely returning to the base,” Davis said.
Davis could not provide any details on where in Afghanistan the incident occurred, what type of mission it was conducting, or where the jet landed.
Davis confirmed that it was small-arms fire, not a surface-to-air missile, that struck the plane, suggesting it was flying at a low altitude.
The incident involving a U.S. pilot is the latest in a string of violence in Afghanistan, including more than two weeks of fighting in Kunduz as the Taliban tried to take over the city.
The Afghan troops, aided by U.S. special operators and airstrikes, were able to drive them “almost completely” out of the city, though Davis said there are still “pockets” of violence.
President Obama announced last week that more U.S. forces would stay in Afghanistan through the majority of 2016 to conduct counterterrorism missions and continue training Afghan forces who are not yet prepared to take control of defending their country.
Nearly 10,000 U.S. troops will remain at multiple bases throughout Afghanistan until late in 2016, when the number will drop to 5,500 into 2017. Obama had originally planned to leave only about 1,000 U.S. personnel to staff and protect an embassy when he left office in 2017.
