Suspect in FlyDubai incident was previously identified as security risk


The co-pilot of the FlyDubai plane who allegedly attacked the plane’s captain and attempted to crash a flight bound for Israel on Wednesday is an Omani national who was previously suspended from flying by Oman Air after being identified as a security risk, according to senior intelligence and law enforcement officials.

Multiple sources familiar with the investigation identified the suspected attacker as 29-year-old Hamam Al Hammami.

The officials told ABC News that Al Hammami, while working as a co-pilot trainee for Oman Air in 2024, was found to be in possession of extremist materials. The suspect was allowed to continue working for the airline in an administrative role, the sources said.

Read more…
Source: ABC News


Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Iraq: ISIS strikes, suicide bombings, and arrests

    February 6, 2026

    Three suicide bombers detonated explosive belts as security forces attempted to arrest them in Al-Anbar province, preventing a potential attack. The blast wounded the head of the Executive Tasks Regiments of Iraq’s National Security Service. In Al-Latifiyah, south of Baghdad, security forces thwarted an attempted terrorist attack targeting a tribal security conference. Acting on intelligence, forces ...

  • Ukraine: Vehicle explosion kills soldier in Odesa, authorities suspect terrorist attack

    February 6, 2026

    A Ukrainian soldier was killed after his vehicle exploded in the southern city of Odesa on Feb. 6, in what local security services have called a terrorist attack. The victim of the explosion, which took place early in the morning, was a 21-year-old local man, local police wrote after the incident. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) ...

  • Libya: Benghazi attack suspect caught, extradited to US

    February 6, 2026

    A suspect in the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, has been arrested and brought back to the United States, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday. Zubayr al-Bakoush was brought back to Andrews Air Force Base at 3:00 a.m., Bondi said at a press conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. ...

  • Pakistan: At least 24 killed and 101 injured after explosion rips through Islamabad imambargah

    February 6, 2026

    At least 24 people were killed and 101 were injured after an explosion ripped through an imambargah during Friday prayers in the federal capital, said a district administration spokesperson. The explosion occurred at Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra in the Tarlai area of the federal capital. The attack comes during the two-day official visit of Uzbekistan President Shavkat ...

  • UNSC members say IS-K in Afghanistan remains serious threat to region, beyond

    February 5, 2026

    Members of the UN Security Council warned on Tuesday that Islamic State’s Khorasan affiliate (IS-K) in Afghanistan continues to pose a serious threat to regional and international security, despite a reported decline in attacks. The council met under the agenda item “Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts” to review the UN secretary-general’s ...

  • Israel: Police arrest individual suspected of preparing explosives, planning attack on IDF soldiers

    February 3, 2026

    An illegal resident from the West Bank was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of preparing explosives and carrying out “additional terror activity” targeting IDF soldiers, Israel Police said on Tuesday night. “The suspect was transferred for questioning by the Shin Bet ,” the statement ended. Earlier on Tuesday, N12 News reported that Israel ...

  • Thailand: Blast kills suspected bomb-maker in Yala

    February 3, 2026

    A man seriously injured when a bomb went off inside a house in Muang district has died from his wounds, security officials said on Tuesday. Assari Masong, 24, succumbed to severe injuries and blood loss after the explosion on Monday, according to a spokesman for Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc). Forensic officers found electronic components and ...

  • DR Congo: Drone attack targets strategic city

    February 2, 2026

    Eight explosive‑laden drones targeted the airport serving the northeastern Congolese city of Kisangani over the weekend, local authorities said, blaming the AFC/M23 rebel group and neighbouring Rwanda. If confirmed to be an AFC/M23 operation, it would be the furthest west the group has struck as part of its offensive against the government in Kinshasa. AFC/M23 spokesperson Willy ...

  • Bangladesh: Three arrested with 95 crude bombs in Shariatpur

    February 2, 2026

    Joint forces in a drive arrested three people and recovered 95 crude bombs from Poragachha Bepari Kandi village of Naria upazila in Shariatpur district on Monday. The arrestees were identified as Nasir Uddin Bachhu Peda, 55, son of Goni Peda, Mehedi Hasan Peda, 30, son of Khalil Peda, and Rony Peda, 25 Tipped off, a team ...

  • Nigeria: Nine arraigned for deadly attack that killed over 150

    February 2, 2026

    Nine people accused of carrying out a deadly attack in north-central Nigeria were arraigned before a federal court on Monday, charged in connection with the deaths of more than 150 people. The defendants are being charged with 57 counts of terrorism and could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment if convicted. They pleaded “not guilty” ...

  • Pakistan: More than 120 people dead after multiple attacks in Balochistan

    February 1, 2026

    Pakistan’s military said Saturday that multiple suicide and gun attacks by “terrorists” across the restive southwestern province of Balochistan killed 33 people, including civilians, while security forces responding to the violence killed 92 assailants. Analysts described it as the deadliest single day for militants in decades During the attacks, Baloch insurgents targeted civilians, a high-security prison, ...

  • Philippines: Troops recover 13 firearms, IEDs in Camarines Sur operation

    January 31, 2026

    Joint troops from the Philippine Army’s 83rd Infantry Battalion and 2nd Infantry Battalion recovered 13 high-powered firearms, including one M60 machine gun and 12 M16 rifles, during an operation in the mountainous area of Barangay Guibahoy, Lagonoy, Camarines Sur. The seizure took place at around 6 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2026. Military officials said the recovered ...

  • Nigeria: Terrorists use armed drones to attack military base in Borno

    January 30, 2026

    Several soldiers are feared dead following a drone-assisted attack by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters on a Nigerian Army base in Borno state. Expand article logo Continue reading The attack, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday, January 29, targeted the Sabon Gari military base in the northeastern part of the ...

  • Mali: Fuel tanker convoy destroyed in attack blamed on extremists

    January 30, 2026

    A convoy of several dozen tankers was set on fire in Mali in a deadly assault that local officials blamed on extremists, the latest escalation in a fuel blockade that had calmed in recent weeks. The attack took place Thursday on a road leading from the Senegalese border to the major city of Kayes in western ...

  • Niger: 20 attackers killed, 4 soldiers wounded in terrorist attack on the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey

    January 29, 2026

    The attack perpetrated on the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger, on the night of January 28 to 29, 2026, by terrorists who came on motorcycles, was met with a “vigorous air-land response” from the Nigerien military that “allowed the neutralization of twenty mercenaries and the arrest of eleven others, the ...