ANKARA (AP) — Turkey held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.
The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Turkey’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.
Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, U.N.-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.
The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.
Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.
Turkey's military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.
The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.
Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party
Libya plunged into chaos after the country’s 2011 uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country split, with rival administrations in the east and west, backed by an array of rogue militias and different foreign governments.
Turkey has been the main backer of Libya’s government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government.
FILE - Libya's army chief of staff Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad poses for a photo in Tripoli, Libya, Oct. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad, File)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — England ended an 18-match winless streak in Australia and beat the home side by four wickets in the fourth Ashes test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
England lost each of the first three tests to allow Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action at Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
But England returned the favor by winning the MCG test Saturday inside two days, similar to Australia's opening win at Perth.
The England winless streak had dated to the 2013-14 Ashes series, which Australia won 5-0. Since England convincingly won the 2010-11 Ashes 3-1, England had lost 16 matches and drawn the other two of their 18 tests Down Under over a period of nearly 15 years.
Needing 175 second-innings runs to win and 98 after the tea break, England reached its target at 178-6 to clinch the match and send thousands of its long-suffering but faithful “Barmy Army” fans into frenzied celebration.
England raced to 70-2 off the first 10 overs in its second innings, losing the wickets of Ben Duckett (34) and Brydon Carse (6). Scott Boland removed Zak Crawley (37) and Jacob Bethell (40), who both made valuable contributions.
Joe Root (15) and captain Ben Stokes (2) fell cheaply before Jamie Smith and Harry Brook guided the visiting side to a morale-boosting win ahead of the fifth and final test beginning Jan. 4 in Sydney.
Earlier Saturday, England bowled out Australia out for 132 in its second innings after lunch on Day 2. On an MCG pitch offering substantial sideways movement for pace bowlers, England successfully chased down a target of 175 to win after 30 wickets had fallen in 4 1-2 sessions.
The dismissal of opener Travis Head (46) was quickly followed by the departures of Usman Khawaja (0) and Alex Carey (4) in the next two overs as Australia slumped from 82-3 to 88-6 in the morning session.
Ben Stokes (3-24) claimed the important wicket of Cameron Green (19) after lunch, caught at second slip, and Brydon Carse sliced through the tail to finish with 4-34.
Australia held an overall lead of 46 Friday after scoring 152, running through England for 110 in a dramatic first day
Josh Tongue, named player of the match, claimed a career-best 5-45 to lead England’s bowling attack Friday before Michael Neser grabbed 4-45 for Australia.
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said Saturday “short tests are bad for business," and said CA would consider a closer role in pitch preparation in the future.
“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation and allowed the staff and the conditions and those characteristics to be presented,” Greenberg told SEN Radio. ”But it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially."
The attendance at the MCG on Saturday was 92,045, the second-highest test crowd in Australia, only behind Friday's opening-day crowd of 94,199.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Australia's Scott Boland, center, successfully appeals for a LBW decision on England's Zak Crawley, right, on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Joe Root bats against Australia on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Jamie Smith, left and Harry Brook touch bats near the end of their Ashes cricket test match against Australia in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Brydon Carse, left, grabs the ball for a caught and bowled on Australia's Michael Neser, right, on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
Australia's Steve Smith watches the ball while batting against England on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Ben Duckett bats against Australia on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Ben Stokes, right, celebrates with teammates after taking Australia's final wicket of their second innings on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Brydon Carse celebrates the wicket of Australia's Mitchell Starc on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
Fans of the England cricket team, known as the Barmy Army, wave flags on Day 2 of the Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
Australia's Jake Weatherald his bowled by England's Ben Stokes on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Josh Tongue, second left, celebrates with teammates after the wicket of Australia Usman Khawaja on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
Australia's Travis Head walks off after he is bowled by England's Brydon Carse on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Josh Tongue, right, celebrates with teammate Jacob Bethell after the wicket of Australia Usman Khawaja on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
