U.S. plane carrying 3 crashes in Kyrgyzstan
CHALDOVAR, Kyrgyzstan An American military refueling plane carrying three crew members crashed Friday in the rugged mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the Central Asian nation where the U.S. operates an air base key to the war in Afghanistan.
There was no word on the fate of the KC-135 crew as darkness fell and the search for them was suspended for the night. Cargo planes do not have ejector seats. Officials at the U.S. base said they had no information yet about the cause of the crash.
The plane crashed at 2:55 p.m. near Chaldovar, a village 100 miles west of the U.S. Transit Center at Manas base outside the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. Pieces of the plane, including its tail, were scattered across in a grassy field bordered by mountains; the air was infused with the heavy stench of fuel.
The plane was on a refueling mission for Afghanistan war operations at the time of the crash.
Pakistani prosecutor in Bhutto case killed
ISLAMABAD Gunmen on Friday killed the lead Pakistani prosecutor in two high-profile cases the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the brutal assault on civilians in Mumbai shocking a country reeling from Taliban attacks as it prepares for nationwide elections.
Chaudhry Zulfikar Ali was gunned down in a hail of bullets as he drove to court in the normally quiet capital, where a concentration of diplomats, government and military officials and aid workers live. Nobody claimed responsibility for the killing, but as Alis work put him in direct conflict with militant groups, suspicion immediately fell on them.
The shooting in Islamabad comes as Pakistan prepares for nationwide elections May 11. Taliban militants have tried to derail the elections with a wave of shootings and bombings aimed at candidates.
Associated Press
