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:
- Indian warship responds to drone attack on merchant vessel in Gulf of Aden
January 18, 2024
The Indian Navy’s frontline warship INS Visakhapatnam responded within an hour to the distress call by MV Genco Picardy following the drone attack at 2311 hours on Wednesday India’s guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam on Thursday swiftly responded to a distress call made by a merchant vessel that came under a drone attack in the Gulf ...
- U.S. Department of State: Terrorist Designation of the Houthis
January 17, 2024
The Department of State today is announcing the designation of Ansarallah, commonly referred to as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, effective 30 days from today. Since November, the Houthis have launched unprecedented attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as military forces positioned in ...
- Greece: Blast damages Greek office of Israeli shipping firm
January 17, 2024
A small explosion occurred on Tuesday outside the Greek offices of the Israeli company Zim Integrated Shipping Services, in a suspected attack by anti-Israel activists. According to police sources cited by Shipping news service Tradewinds, an improvised explosive and two gas canisters were used in the pre-dawn blast in the port city of Piraeus, which caused ...
- Nigeria: IED Kills Two Civilian JTF Members In Borno
January 17, 2024
Two members of the Civilian Joint Taskforce have been killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Boko Haram terrorist in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State. “The incidence happened while on their routine operations along Mafa/Konduga LGA axis before stepping on landmine suspected to have been planted by Boko Haram Terrorist. Two of ...
- Two Malaysians in Guantanamo plead guilty to conspiring in Bali Bombings
January 17, 2024
Malaysians Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep and Mohammed Farik Bin Amin have pleaded guilty to conspiring in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people. The two men appeared in front of a military court at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday. Charges related to the 2003 attack on the Marriott Hotel ...
- Kenya: Five security officers injured in IED attack in Mandera
January 16, 2024
At least five security officers have been injured after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) at Lafey in Mandera. The officers were part of a team in a convoy of three vehicles with 70 officers heading to Mandera from Elwak when the incident occurred. The incident happened at the junction of Lafey and ...
- Central African Republic: UN chief condemns killing of peacekeeper in Ouham-Pendé prefecture
January 16, 2024
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the killing of one Cameroonian peacekeeper from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, his spokesman said. Five peacekeepers were injured, two seriously, in a bombing attack in Mbindali, Ouham-Pende Prefecture. The secretary-general expressed his sincere condolences to the victim’s family and the government of ...
- Yemen’s Houthis claim attack on ship in Red Sea as US confirms new strike
January 16, 2024
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a Malta-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea as the United States says it has launched a new strike on Houthi targets amid soaring tensions around the key waterway. “A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was reportedly targeted and impacted with a missile while transiting the ...
- UK to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir as terror group
January 15, 2024
One of the most controversial Islamist groups in the UK, Hizb ut-Tahrir, is to be banned as a terrorist organisation, accused of praising the Hamas attacks. Home Secretary James Cleverly said the group was “antisemitic” and “actively promotes and encourages terrorism”. The ban under UK terrorism laws comes after followers were accused of chanting “jihad” at ...
- Yemen’s Houthis hit US-owned dry bulk ship in the Gulf of Aden
January 15, 2024
Houthi forces in Yemen struck the U.S.-owned and operated dry bulk ship Gibraltar Eagle with an anti-ship ballistic missile, U.S Central Command said on Monday, although there were no reports of injuries or significant damage. The vessel’s U.S.-based operator Eagle Bulk Shipping said that it was hit by an “unidentified projectile” while sailing 100 miles off ...
- Pakistan: Five soldiers killed in Kech bomb explosion
January 14, 2024
Five soldiers were martyred and two others, including an officer, injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeted a security vehicle in the Buleda area of Balochistan’s Kech district on Saturday. Separately, security forces killed four militants in two intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan and Dera Ismail Khan districts. In the Kech ...
- Malicious Actors Threaten U.S. Synagogues, Schools, Hospitals, and Other Institutions With Bomb Threats
January 12, 2024
FBI, DHS, and NCTC are warning the public of ongoing bomb threats by malicious actors targeting synagogues, Jewish community centers, schools, hospitals, airports, government buildings, and other public institutions in the United States. These actors threaten to detonate supposedly hidden explosives or commit violence against the recipients or their families. To date, FBI, DHS, and NCTC ...
- Pakistan: Gas pipeline blown up in Bolan valley
January 12, 2024
A gas pipeline in Balochistan’s rugged Bolan area fell victim to a bomb explosion on Thursday. According to Levies sources, unidentified individuals planted an improvised explosive device (IED) near a gas pipeline in the Bolan Valley. The detonation of the IED resulted in a huge explosion, causing significant damage to a 12-inch diameter gas pipeline. Subsequently, ...
- Afghanistan: Blasts hit Kabul, Balkh leaving several killed
January 11, 2024
At least two civilians were killed and 12 others were injured in a grenade blast in PD 18 of Kabul today, a spokesman for the Kabul security department, Khalid Zadran said. He said that an investigation is underway to arrest the perpetrator. Kabul-based Emergency NGO– a humanitarian health organization- said that “the number of patients that ...
- Iran identifies suspected bomb-maker behind twin blasts, arrests 35 people
January 11, 2024
Iranian authorities say they have identified the alleged ringleader who made bombs used in the twin bombings on January 3 in the southeastern city of Kerman that killed more than 90 people, state media reported. On Thursday, the Ministry of Intelligence said the main suspect who planned the bombings was a Tajik national known by his ...