Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
A military plane crashed in Kazakhstan Tuesday, killing the country’s acting border-service chief and 19 border guards, along with seven crew members, the Associated Press reports.
Among the dead is active head Col. Turganbek Stambekov.
Details remained murky Wednesday morning, and the cause of the crash was unknown, the AP reported.
In southern Kazakhstan, where the plane crashed, heavy snow, strong winds and low temperatures have caused flight delays, the AP wrote.
In June, Col. Stambekov was given the leadership role after a mass killing of 14 frontier troops in a remote outpost near the border with China in May. The slaughter caught worldwide criticism and raised questions about the troops’ professionalism, the AP reported.
