Afghan military plane crashes in Uzbekistan; cause disputed

By DARIA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — An Afghan military plane crashed in Uzbekistan over the weekend and Uzbek authorities issued conflicting reports on the cause. That came as dozens of Afghan military aircraft carrying hundreds of servicemen reportedly reached Uzbekistan, among the thousands fleeing after the Taliban recaptured Kabul. The plane crash in southeastern Uzbekistan was reported by local media and confirmed by Uzbekistan’s Defense Ministry. Later Monday, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported it was told that Uzbekistan’s air defense system had downed the plane. The Prosecutor General’s office in Uzbekistan issued, then retracted, a different statement, saying an Afghan military plane collided with an Uzbek plane. The Associated Press couldn’t immediately reconcile those conflicting reports.