At least five killed at Kabul airport

Gulf Today Report

At least five people were killed in Kabul airport as hundreds of people tried to forcibly enter planes leaving the Afghan capital, witnesses told the media.

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One witness said he had seen the bodies of five people being taken to a vehicle. Another witness said it was not clear whether the victims were killed by gunshots or in a stampede.

Afghans crowd at the airport as they wait to leave from Kabul on Monday. AFP

US troops, who are in charge of the airport, earlier fired in the air to scatter the crowd, a US official said.

Officials were not immediately available to comment on the deaths.

Meanwhile, an Afghan military jet has crashed in Uzbekistan, an Uzbek news website reported on Monday, citing sources and images shared via messaging apps.

Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

According to the Gazeta.uz report, the jet crashed late on Sunday in Uzbekistan's southernmost Surxondaryo province adjacent to Afghanistan. It published photographs of medics attending to a man in an air force uniform.

The website also said a source told it that two Afghan military servicemen believed to have also been on the plane were hospitalised in the provincial capital, Termez.

Russia's TASS news agency cited Uzbekistan's defence ministry as saying it was studying reports about the crash. Uzbek authorities could not immediately be reached for comment, according to Reuters.

On Sunday, Uzbekistan said it had detained 84 Afghan soldiers who had crossed the border and sought medical help.