Kurdish peshmerga fighters examine vehicles with weapons and ammunition left behind by fleeing Islamic State militants during clashes in the al-Zerga area near Tikrit city in Salahuddin province October 8, 2014. Kurdish peshmerga forces backed by Shi&#039
IN PHOTO: Kurdish peshmerga fighters examine vehicles with weapons and ammunition left behind by fleeing Islamic State militants during clashes in the al-Zerga area near Tikrit city in Salahuddin province October 8, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer REUTERS/Stringer

Russia has admitted it owns the cargo plane that made an unauthorised landing in Nigeria's Kano city over the weekend. However, it rejected claims it also owned the stash of military hardware the plane holds, saying the weapons came from France.

The Russian jet was labelled AH-124-100 and is a heavy military transport aircraft, according to portal Naij.com. It was bound for the Chadian capital N'Djamena, travelling from Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic. It was forced to make an emergency landing at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport about 2 am on Saturday because N'Djamena airport was close.

An unidentified air force spokesman told Reuters that two helicopters, a bullet-proof jeep and boxes of what were suspected to be military hardware were found by inspectors inside the plane. Portal leadership.ng said there were also rocket launchers and long boxes filled with rifles. These photos sourced by Naij.com allegedly contained the weapons.

Citing the Russian Embassy in Nigeria, portal Nigeria Bulletin reported the plane being held by Nigerian authorities in the city of Kano is Russian, "but its military cargo belongs to a French peacekeeping mission." TASS reported the crew of the Russian cargo plane is composed of 18 Russians and two French nationals. "The plane is currently kept at the port of Kano," Artyom Romanov, the spokesman of the Russian embassy in Abuja, told TASS. "The Russian embassy is working with the Nigerian authorities to settle the situation around the detained plane."

Romanov said the French peacekeeping mission in Chad had chartered the Russian cargo plane to bring the supplies. However, the French Embassy in Nigeria denied on its official website that the cargo plane carried weapons and ammunitions. It also maintained that using "chartered flights of various nationalities for military cargo transport" was a standard international practice.

Portal Naij.com said this isn't the first time that a Russian plane loaded with arms got intercepted in Kano. The first was in 2009. Nigeria, after a series of investigations, released the planes. Portal osundefender.org said the pilot sought permission from officials to land at the airport after the plane developed technical problems.