MOSCOW, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- A Russian military aircraft crashed in the northwest of the country late on Thursday, killing all fourcrew, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.

    Colonel Alexander Drobychevsk was quoted as saying that the remains of the Tu-22M3 long-range bomber were found near the Saltsy aerodrome, in the Novgorod region.

    Ground controllers had lost contact with the aircraft, which was on a training exercise.

    The Tu-22M3, also known as a Backfire, was designed in the late1970s and brought into active service by the Soviet armed forces in 1983. It can carry cruise missiles, short-range missiles, or nuclear bombs. Enditem