Cargo plane linked to peacekeeping shot down

? A cargo plane that had delivered equipment for Ugandan peacekeepers in the Somali capital was shot down by a missile during takeoff Friday, the owner of the plane said. A witness said the aircraft crashed in flames after one of its wings fell into the Indian Ocean.

The fate of the 11-member crew was unknown.

Egi Azarian, the acting head of Belarus-based Transaviaexport, confirmed that the company’s plane was shot down Friday. Transaviaexport, based in Minsk, Belarus, operates only Ilyushin-76s, one of the largest cargo planes in the world. The aircraft requires a crew of six, is 153 feet long and can carry nearly 50 tons of cargo.

Capt. Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia, confirmed a crash. Ankunda said he did not know the nationalities of the crew or whether they had survived, but said, “We are afraid that they have gone.”