Moscow, December 29 (Interfax-AVN) - A charter plane from Kabul to Moscow delivered onDec. 28the remains of two Soviet soldiers who went missing during their deployment in Afghanistan as part of Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces in 1979-1989, said Gen. Ruslan Aushev, who chairs the CIS Council of Heads of State's committee for soldier internationalists.
"Last week saw the completion of our Committee’s 14th expedition, which searched for the graves of Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. The search led to the discovery of a grave of two more Soviet soldiers, whose remains were exhumed and today delivered for identification via DNA tests," Aushev said.
The remains were found with the help of local residents in the Pandsher Gorge, said Committee deputy chairman Alexander Lavrentyev, who led the expedition.
The Committee is aware of eight more graves of Soviet soldiers who died at different stages already after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan in February 1989, Lavrentyev also said. "These graves are in the province of Lagman, the Pandsher Gorge and near the fortress Bala Hissar located in Kabul," the official said.
The Committee for soldier internationalists has data on about 270 servicemen who went missing during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Of them, 135 were from Russia, five from Azerbaijan, one from Armenia, 12 from Belarus, one from Georgia, 19 from Kazakhstan, four from Kyrgyzstan, five from Moldova, four from Tajikistan, 29 from Uzbekistan, and 55 from Ukraine.
