A Russian military plane has crashed in Syria killing 26 passengers and six crew members.
The transport plane came down 1,600ft from the runway at the Khmeimim air base, near the Syrian city of Latakia, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
Initial indications show that a technical issue caused the crash and that it had not come under fire.
A Russian military plane has crashed in Syria killing 26 passengers and six crew members at the Khmeimim air base, near the Syrian city of Latakia (file picture)
A statement issued by the ministry said: ‘Around 3pm, a Russian An-26 transport aircraft crashed while coming in for landing at the Khmeimim airbase. All those on board died.’
The plane crashed down 1,600ft from the landing strip, it said, and had not come under fire.
Vladimir Putin has backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in his battle against rebels and jihadists in the country with Khmeimim one of the Kremlin’s key bases in the war-torn country.
More follows.