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:
- Pyro-Terrorism In Israel: 7 Points to Ponder
November 26, 2016
We will probably never know the whole story behind the 200+ fires that set Israel ablaze over the past 3-4 days. But pyro-terrorism should not surprise us. We were forewarned. Long ago. Fire as a Weapon of War Fire has been used in warfare throughout human history. Villages have been burned to the ground to prevent the ...
- PyroTerrorism Not New, ‘Inspired’ in Past by Al Qaeda
November 24, 2016
The idea of attacking a targeted population by setting fire to the area — while primitive – is not at all new. Arabs from the Palestinian Authority have used such methods before to attack Israel, but the idea did not originate with them. The English-language Inspire Magazine published in 2012 by Al Qaeda in the Arabian ...
- The £1bn of weapons flowing from Europe to Middle East
July 27, 2016
AEastern European countries have approved the discreet sale of more than €1bn of weapons in the past four years to Middle Eastern countries that are known to ship arms to Syria, an investigation has found. Thousands of assault rifles such as AK-47s, mortar shells, rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons and heavy machine guns are being routed ...
- Why Is the Nokia 105 Cellphone a Favorite Among ISIS Fighters?
March 12, 2016
The Nokia 105 is marketed as a super-durable, dirt cheap phone with a long battery life. It also appears to be the most popular device among ISIS’ ranks for setting off bombs. The must-have cellphone for ISIS fighters in Iraq doesn’t have apps or a camera, and ships for less than $30. The small and simple Nokia ...
- What Happened to the Soviet Superpower’s Nuclear Arsenal? Clues for the Nuclear Security Summit
August 18, 2012
Twenty years ago Russia and fourteen other newly-independent states emerged from the ruins of the Soviet empire, many as nations for the first time in history. As is typical in the aftermath of the collapse of an empire, this was followed by a period of chaos, confusion, and corruption. At that same moment, as the ...
