I’m not sure terrorism is on the rise, or whether they are recruiting more for their struggle, it seems like travellers are becoming less vulnerable though:
Quote:
With a plasticine bomb, 2 men claiming to act on behalf of Al Qaeda hijacked an Turkish airliner out of Cyprus with 136 passengers. The terrorists surrendered to authorities in Antalia’s airport on the Turkish mediterranean coast, where the jet landed to refuel for Iran where the terrorists had sought to go.
Interior Minister, Osman Günes, said the suspects where held at the Antalia Security Directorate and their identification documents indicated they are Mehmet Resat Özlü from Turkey and Abdulaziz Maliki, a Palestinian with a Syrian passport whose indentity was more uncertain.
Turco-Cypriot Transport Minister, Salih Usar, earlier had said the hijackers were Iranian, while Mahmut Adas, a Turkish passenger who called in to EFE the hijacking as it was taking place, shortly before the suspects surrendered, said they were Lebanese. At that time Adas was one of the 5 hostages left on the plane (2 passengers and 3 stewardesses) and they were held to communicate as they could speak and translate Arabic.
EFE could hear one of the suspects tell Adas he didn’t want to talk to the press at one point when he was passed the phone. “They (the hijackers) just want to go to Iran. They say they are Lebanese and complain of the repression in Lebanon, that they are doing this in the name of Al Qaeda” Adas, a technician from Cyprus on his way to a training course in Istambul is heard saying wearily.
When 2 passengers rose from their seats and tried to force the cabin door to hijack the plane, the pilot brought the jet down in Antalia saying he needed to refuel to reach Iran. Once on the ground, pilot and copilot abandoned the aircraft jumping to the tarmack from their cabin windows. Another unsual development was the improvised evacuation which resulted when the aircraft ran out of air in the cabin. The hijackers opened a door to release women and children, while the male passengers forced open emergency doors in the rear and fled.
Turkish authorities have refused to give details on how the suspects were arrested. It is known they sent 2 teams of technicians to the aircraft to fix the emergency doors, the 1st team was unsuccessful, but the second team persuaded them to surrender. Interstitial - Noticia |
These bungling hijackers probably have nothing to do with Al Qaeda, sympathisers I suppose. Iran seems a poor choice for Al Qaeda wannabees to seek shelter, don't they have a problem with that Sunni/Shia schism?