World IN BRIEF : AZERBAIJAN : 19 Killed as Plane Crashes on Takeoff

At least 19 people were killed when a plane carrying families of Russian soldiers crashed after takeoff from the Azerbaijani territory of Nakhichevan. The Transcaucasian military district press center said the Antonov 12 plane crashed after taking off for the Russian city of Rostov. It said the aircraft was carrying relatives of Russian army soldiers from the garrison at Nakhichevan, which borders Turkey, Armenia and Iran. It was unclear whether the families were being evacuated from the area or were aboard for some other purpose. Military officials said 19 of the 25 passengers aboard were killed. But the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported that 34 people were aboard the aircraft and 29 of them died.