Afghan officials say searchers have spotted wreckage from a passenger plane that crashed in the mountains near Kabul Monday with 43 people on board.
The officials said the tail of the Pamir Airways plane was seen in photographs brought back from search aircraft on Thursday. The wreckage was located in mountainous terrain several dozen kilometers north of the capital, Kabul.
Six foreigners, including an American and three British citizens, were on board when the plane crashed earlier this week while on its way from the northern city of Kunduz to the Afghan capital.
Afghan officials say they plan to launch a ground and air operation to reach the crash site. Poor weather and rugged terrain have hampered the search for victims.
Privately-owned Pamir Airways began operations in 1995. The Afghan airline has daily domestic flights and also flies to Dubai. Pamir uses a Russian-made Antonov An-24 aircraft on its Kunduz-Kabul route.