Ukrainian evacuation plane hijacked in Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): A Ukrainian plane that landed in Afghanistan for the evacuation of Ukrainians was hijacked on Tuesday, an official in Kiev said.

Unidentified men flew the plane into Iran, Russian news agency TASS quoted Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin as saying.

He said: “On Tuesday, the plane was practically stolen from us. It flew into Iran with an unidentified group of passengers onboard.

“Our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because our people could not get into the airport.”

The hijackers were armed, according to TASS. Yenin did not comment on whether Ukraine would be taking steps to recover the plane.

US and NATO officials at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul have said nothing so far about the incident.

PAN Monitor/mud