[Fair Use: For Education and Research Purpose Only]

Afghan Plane Lands in Uzbekistan After Going Missing for Three Hours

By Amir Shah Associated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan plane carrying 151 passengers went missing for three hours Sunday before landing safely in neighboring Uzbekistan, an airline official said. There was no immediate explanation for why the aircraft was diverted to Uzbekistan during its one-hour scheduled flight from the Afghan capital of Kabul to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

International sanctions against Afghanistan prohibit Afghan planes from flying international routes.

Flight controllers lost contact with the Ariana Airlines flight just after the Boeing 727 took off from the Kabul airport, said Mullah Hamidullah, the head of state-run Ariana airline.

Ariana official Raz Mohammed Alami, as well as a U.N. official in Pakistan, said the aircraft had landed safely in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

Alami said Afghanistan's ruling Taliban received word of the aircraft's diversion and safe landing from officials in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe. It was unclear why the information had been relayed from Tajikistan.

As the plane left Kabul, it was heading north over the rugged Hindu Kush mountains. The distance to Mazar-e-Sharif, one of the main cities in northern Afghanistan, is about 225 miles.

Ariana has only a handful of aging planes, and maintenance conditions are considered extremely poor in the bankrupt country, which has been battered by more than 20 years of war.

Last November, the United Nations imposed sanctions against the Taliban movement for its refusal to extradite suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, who has been living in Afghanistan for several years.

The punitive measures include a prohibition on international flights, which put a halt to Ariana's one regular international flight to the United Arab Emirates, where its planes were being serviced. Since November the planes have been serviced in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have said they won't turn over bin Laden because Afghan culture and tradition makes it impossible to hand a guest over to his enemies. They also argue they do not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

) Copyright 2000 Associated Press.

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-- Dee (t1colt556@aol.com), February 06, 2000

Answers

Afghan Plane Carrying 166 Hijacked Updated 8:07 AM ET February 6, 2000 By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan plane carrying 166 people was hijacked Sunday and forced to land in Uzbekistan, where it refueled, took off and appeared to be headed toward Moscow, Taliban and opposition officials said. Ten passengers were released while the plane was in Uzbekistan, according to an Afghan opposition spokesman, identified only as Abdullah. It was unclear who hijacked the plane. The aircraft, which had been on a scheduled flight from the Afghan capital, Kabul, to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, disappeared for three hours Sunday before unexpectedly landing in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. After four hours at the airport there, the aircraft took off heading toward Moscow, said Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a Taliban foreign ministry spokesman in Kabul. The Uzbek authorities had apparently allowed the aircraft to refuel. "It has been hijacked," Faiz said. "We are asking the world for help." Uzbek authorities refused to comment on the incident. But while the plane was on the ground, the airport in Tashkent was surrounded by guards and the road leading to the airport was blocked, according to Afghan opposition spokesman Mohammed Marzuddin, who spoke to The Associated Press outside the airport. He said a guard at the airport reported negotiations were held between the air traffic control tower and the pilot. The Afghan opposition, which has an office in Tashkent, disassociated itself with the hijacking. "We condemn any act of terrorism," Abdullah said. The Taliban previously have accused Uzbekistan of aiding the opposition, made up mostly of Afghanistan's ethnic minorities, including Uzbeks, Tajiks and Shiite Muslims. Flight controllers lost contact with the Ariana Airlines flight just after the Boeing 727 took off from the Kabul airport, said Mullah Hamidullah, the head of state-run Ariana airline. Ariana official Raz Mohammed Alami, as well as a U.N. official in Pakistan, said the aircraft had landed safely in Tashkent. The flight originally carried 151 passengers, including 12 children, and 15 crew members, Alami said. It is believed everyone on board was Afghan. The Taliban received word of the aircraft's diversion and safe landing from officials in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe, he said. It was unclear why the information had been relayed from Tajikistan. International sanctions against Afghanistan prohibit Afghan planes from flying international routes. As the plane left Kabul, it was heading north over the rugged Hindu Kush mountains. The distance to Mazar-e-Sharif, one of the main cities in northern Afghanistan, is about 225 miles. Ariana has only a handful of aging planes, and maintenance conditions are considered extremely poor in the bankrupt country, which has been battered by more than 20 years of war. Last November, the United Nations imposed sanctions against the Taliban movement for its refusal to extradite suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, who has been living in Afghanistan for several years. The punitive measures include a prohibition on international flights, which put a halt to Ariana's one regular international flight to the United Arab Emirates, where its planes were being serviced. Since November the planes have been serviced in Afghanistan. The Taliban have said they won't turn over bin Laden because Afghan culture and tradition makes it impossible to hand a guest over to his enemies. They also argue they do not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

-- Trish (adler2@webtv.net), February 06, 2000.

bin Laden's taxi service

-- I see (dimmly@foggy.land), February 06, 2000.