All Nine Crew Killed In Afghan Plane Crash

The Afghan Transport Ministry says all nine crew have been killed aboard an Azerbaijani cargo plane which crashed into mountains overnight in northeastern Afghanistan.

It is not yet clear what caused the crash, which took place in the Siagird area of Parwan Province.

Officials said the Russian-made Illyushin-76 had taken off from Baku late on July 5 with 18 tons of supplies for the U.S.-led NATO mission in Afghanistan heading to Bagram air base, north of Kabul.

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, British Major Tim James, said the plane crashed about 3,800 meters up a mountain.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Pakistan said the aircraft's crew came from Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

The Russian-built plane was owned by the private Azerbaijani airline Silk Way.

compiled from agency reports