GENE RANDALL, CNN ANCHOR: There is a tense hostage situation in Moscow. Russian security forces have surrounded a hijacked Afghan airliner with at least 100 people on board. The plane left Kabul early today on a scheduled flight to Northern Afghanistan. But armed hijackers forced it to land in Uzbekistan, then Kazakhstan, and now Russia. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Moscow.</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks Gene. The latest here is that security officials say the hijackers of this Afghan Ariana Air Boeing 727 have now released nine passengers on the ground here in Moscow. All of those passengers are said to be males. They are said to be waiting in a bus in the airport facility, waiting for doctors to arrive to give them a full medical examination. The hijackers have been in constant touch with negotiators since they landed in Moscow, with the Russian authorities demanding food be brought to the aircraft to feed the remaining passengers, demanding that the aircraft be refueled. There has also been a request for a map of Europe, fueling speculation that these hijackers have requested the authorities here in Russia to allow them to take off to fly on to a European city. And, indeed, in the last few moments, we have it confirmed by Russian officials that the hijackers have requested a corridor to fly out of Russia into European airspace. I can tell you the situation, though, Gene, right now on the ground is that even though there has been these requests made, the plane, this Boeing 727, is still firmly on the ground here in Moscow. We'll bring you the latest details as and when we have them. Back to you.</s>RANDALL: Matthew Chance in the Russian capital. Thanks, Matthew. TO ORDER VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Russian Security Forces Surround Hijacked Afghan Plane