Afghan Military Plane Downed by Uzbek Air Defences for Trying to Cross Border

According to the emergency services, two pilots from the aircraft survived the fall and were admitted to a hospital in the city of Termez.

An Afghan military aircraft has crashed in the Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan on Monday, the Uzbek Defence Ministry stated, saying that the plane was shot down as it tried to cross the border without permission.

"On 15 August, in the Sherabad district of the Surxondaryo Region, the air defence forces of the Uzbek Air Force prevented an attempt to illegally enter the airspace of Uzbekistan by an Afghan military aircraft", the ministry said.

The statement was made after photos appearing to depict the crashed plane emerged online, with people claiming they found it not far from the Afghan border, and that at least one person was found injured at the site of the incident.

NEW:

An Afghan Air Force plane crashed last night in Surxondaryo, Uzbekistan and two people were recovered from the plane in wounded condition. They have been shifted to medical facility by Uzbek authorities. It is believed that they were trying to escape from Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/5TclTck3DL

— FJ (@Natsecjeff) August 16, 2021

It remains unclear, what or who was on board the warplane and why it ended up in Uzbek territory.

The crash occurred amid a major crisis in Afghanistan, as the Taliban* took over the country, prompting thousands to flee, including President Ashraf Ghani.

The militants launched a major offensive amid US forces withdrawing from Afghanistan as stipulated by the Doha agreement. Over the last two weeks, they managed to seize all major cities and take control over the nation's borders.

Following talks on Sunday, a new transitional government was formed, and Kabul fell under the control of the Taliban as well.

*The Taliban is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other nations.