Rebels Down Afghan Plane, Killing 15

MOSCOW —  Afghan guerrillas shot down a transport plane as it was coming in to land at Kunduz airport near the Soviet border, killing all 15 people on the aircraft, the official Tass news agency said on Monday.

The Afghan plane, an Antonov AN-26 carrying six crew members and nine passengers, crashed in flames after being hit by rocket fire over the northern Afghan town on Sunday.

It was the second transport plane shot down this month. Six people were killed Sept. 1 when another AN-26, used in Afghan civil aviation, was hit by rebel fire as it was about to land in the eastern Khost region.

Muslim rebels fighting to overthrow the Soviet-backed Kabul government have used U.S.-made Stinger and British Blowpipe ground-to-air missiles to attack Afghan aircraft.