The US military has confirmed that a light plane that crashed Thursday in Maguindanao del Sur, killing all four people onboard, was contracted by the US Department of Defense to provide intelligence support at the request of Philippine allies.

A US-contracted surveillance plane crashed in the Philippines on Thursday morning, killing all four personnel on board, including one US military service member, according to US Indo-Pacific Command.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Metrea.  A surveillance plane contracted by the Pentagon crashed in the Philippines on Thursday killing four, including a U.S. Marine, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News.