WASHINGTON — A plane that crashed in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province on Monday, reportedly killing everyone on board, has been confirmed as belonging to the U.S. Air Force.

The chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, Gen. Dave Goldfein, confirmed to CNBC that the plane is a U.S. Air Force E-11 military airplane, built by Bombardier. The plane crashed in territory currently under Taliban control. He was unable to confirm whether the aircraft was targeted by hostile fire, nor could he confirm details about potential casualties.

"We don't know the status of the crew," Goldfein said.

"Here's another thing I'll share with you, every time I've been through this, which, unfortunately, has been a number of times, the first reports are always wrong, always wrong. So we have to make sure that we have the facts right and as soon as we have those facts I promise you we will get them to you," he added.

Speaking to reporters during a Pentagon press briefing, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Monday that he was "aware of the situation" and that he had "nothing further to report at this time."

U.S. Forces Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said in a statement that the cause of the crash was under investigation and that there were "no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire." Leggett added that Taliban claims of additional downed aircraft were false.

The E-11A is an electronics surveillance aircraft used to bridge communications on the battlefield. Given the mountainous and rugged terrain in Afghanistan, the E-11A is essential for transmitting communications between ground units, commanders as well as other assets in the region. The aircraft is assigned to the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Maj. Beth Riordan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command, had said earlier that it remained unclear whose aircraft was involved in the crash.