Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption The An-26 - like this one in an archive photo - is a twin-engine turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft

A Russian military transport plane has crashed in Syria killing more than 30 people, the defence ministry says. MOSCOW — A Russian military transport plane carrying 33 passengers and six crew members crashed on landing at an air base in Syria on Tuesday, killing all on board, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The ministry was cited as saying that the plane crashed at Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province and that initial information suggested the crash may have been caused by a technical fault. Hmeimim is Russia's main base for air strikes on rebel groups in Syria - strikes that have enabled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces to recover much lost ground. President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash after receiving a briefing from defence minister Sergei Shoigu, the Kremlin said in a statement. It was the second Russian military plane to crash in Syria this year, after a Su-25 ground attack jet was struck by a portable air defence missile over the northern Idlib province last month.
A Russian Antonov An-26 transport plane crashes during an attempted landing at Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria, killing all 39 people onboard.