February 20, 2003	Thursday	Zul Hijjah 18, 1423

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TEHRAN, Feb 19: An Iranian military transport aircraft crashed near the central city of Kerman on Wednesday with the loss of all 270 people on board, state television reported.

Members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps were among the passengers aboard the Antonov plane when it went down in the Shahdab area on a flight from the southeastern town of Zahedan, the television said.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at around 5:30pm. (1400 GMT), the television added. —APP