U.S. Military Experts Arrive In Tajikistan

An S-130 military cargo jet of the Italian Air Force landed in Dushanbe on Sunday with 12 US military experts and about 30 US marines on board, reported the Tajik transport ministry on Monday. The American specialists are expected to evaluate the technical capacities of the airport of Kulyab, a town 40 km away from the Tajik-Afghan border, to find out if it is fit to receive and accommodate heavy military transport aircraft from the USA and their allies from the anti-terrorist coalition. For the airport of Kulyab, it will be the third expert check of this kind. In the meantime, the leaders of Tajikistan have already allowed the USA and their allies to use its airports and air corridors, but only with the purpose of delivering humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. According to a source in the Tajik State Airlines, airplanes and helicopters can use the airport of Kulyab at the time allowed for landing and takeoff only.