Attacks on Afghan Civil Planes Reportedly Killed 143 This Year

MOSCOW — Attacks on Soviet-built Antonov transport planes, which are used in civil aviation in Afghanistan, have killed 143 people this year, the Soviet army newspaper Red Star said on Friday.

The Antonovs, used to transport people and goods in Afghanistan, are painted in olive-green camouflage colors and are virtually indistinguishable from military planes.

The total included six people killed Tuesday when an Antonov-26 carrying two tons of wheat was shot down on its approach to Khost airport in eastern Afghanistan.

The newspaper also listed:

--36 killed when a transport plane was shot down shortly after taking off from Khost on Feb. 9.

--50 who died when an Antonov hit by a missile exploded over Afghanistan’s eastern Zabul province on July 11.

--11 killed in an attack on an Antonov shot down 25 miles from Khost on Aug. 13.

It said an additional 40 died when an Antonov-26 was attacked by a Pakistani warplane near the border on March 30. Pakistan said the Antonov, which bore military markings, had intruded 10 miles into its airspace.

Soviet officials have acknowledged heavy aircraft losses in recent weeks, blaming them on Western-supplied missiles. Red Star said guerrillas based in Pakistan use U.S. Stinger and British Blowpipe anti-aircraft missiles in an intensified air war in Afghanistan.