DHAKA: A Russian transport plane crashed in Syria killing all 32 passengers and six crew members believed to have been on board, reports Al Jazeera.

The An-26 plane crashed during landing at Hmeimim airbase, near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, the ministry is quoted as saying by Russian media.

The plane was not fired upon, Russia says, and preliminary data suggests a technical malfunction could have caused the crash.

On 7 January, Russian forces said they had foiled a drone attack on Hmeimim.

This was just a week after Russian warplanes were damaged at the airbase in a rebel mortar attack.

The Russian defence ministry says the plane crashed at about 15:00 Moscow Time (12:00 GMT). The plane went down about 500m (1640ft) from the runway.

A special commission is to be set up to investigate the crash.

BDST: 1009 HRS, MAR 6, 2018
SI