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:
- Ex-Colombian officer charged with conspiring to kill U.S. Army soldiers at military base
December 4, 2023
A former Colombian military officer was charged Friday with conspiring with others to plant a bomb in a vehicle to murder members of the U.S. Army who were working with Colombian soldiers in the South American country. Three U.S. Army soldiers were injured in the bombing attack more than two years ago, U.S. authorities said. Andres ...
- Yemen: Oil pipeline in Shabwa sabotaged by unidentified gunmen
December 4, 2023
A group of unidentified gunmen carried out an attack and sabotaged a crude oil pipeline in southern Yemen’s oil-rich province of Shabwa, a government official said on Monday. The gunmen used explosives to bomb the main crude pipeline near the Jannah Hunt oil field on Sunday night, which has caused significant damage and resulted in a ...
- Israel raises threat level against travel to 80 countries due to Gaza war
December 4, 2023
The threat level has been raised in 80 countries for Israelis as a result of the Gaza war, according to a new list published by the National Security Council. “Since the beginning of the war, we have identified increased efforts by Iran and its proxies, including Hamas and Global Jihad factions, to harm Israeli and Jewish ...
- Nigeria faces relentless Boko Haram, ISIS attacks
December 4, 2023
Nigeria faced persistent terrorism attacks in 2022, the U.S. Department of States has said in its latest Country Reports on Terrorism 2022 (CRT). The report highlights the relentless attacks conducted by ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA), Boko Haram and Ansaru across the northern and central regions of Nigeria in 2022. “ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA), Boko Haram and Ansaru continued ...
- Uganda: Security provides more details about blasts in Kampala and Wakiso
December 4, 2023
Security has provided more details about the ADF commander behind the Saturday double blasts in Kampala and Wakiso. The two blasts went off simultaneously at Kikubamutwe in Kabalagala and another in Nabweru in Nansana Municipality. “The IED that exploded in Nabweru was allegedly brought by two young men yesterday after hiring that house for three months and ...
- Philippines: Bomb blast during Mass kills 4, wounds 50 at Mindanao State University
December 4, 2023
Four persons died and 50 others were wounded after a bomb exploded inside the Dimaporo Gym of the Mindanao State University (MSU) while a Catholic Mass attended by students was held past 7 a.m. on Sunday, police reported. Brig. Gen. Allan Cruz Nobleza, police regional director of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said ...
- Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted two Israeli ships in Red Sea
December 3, 2023
Yemen’s Houthi movement says it has targeted two Israeli ships with an armed drone and a naval missile, reports a spokesperson for the group’s military. The spokesperson said the two ships, Unity Explorer and Number Nine, were targeted after they rejected warnings from the group’s navy, the Reuters news agency reported on Sunday. Read more… Source: Al-Jazeera News
- Somalia: Howlwadaag district explosion linked to Al-Shabaab amid security camera mandate
November 29, 2023
Authorities believe the explosion is a direct response to the National Intelligence and Security Agency’s (NISA) directive for commercial centers on Black Sea road to install surveillance cameras. Al-Shabaab had issued threats against compliance with this government order, leading to the closure of several businesses. A spokesperson for Al-Shabaab has stated their intent to target businesses ...
- Philippines: Basilan explosion kills 2 militiamen, injures 3 others
November 28, 2023
Two members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (Cafgu) died on the spot when they accidentally tripped on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Sitio Bato Piyat, Barangay Limbocandis, Sumisip town of Basilan province at around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27. Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of the Philippine Army’s 101st Brigade in Basilan, ...
- Nigeria: Dozens of jihadists killed in mine explosion in Borno
November 28, 2023
Dozens of fighters from IS-affiliated jihadist group have been killed in a landmine explosion in the Lake Chad region in northeast Nigerian Borno, anti-jihadist militia leaders told AFP Monday. Two trucks loaded with militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Sunday exploded when they hit a mine outside Arina Masallaci village in Marte ...
- India: Suspected Improvised Explosive Devices seized in Sonitpur
November 28, 2023
The police on Tuesday recovered three suspected handmade Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the Sonitpur district, which borders neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh. The police informed that a person was arrested in connection with the recovery. According to the sleuths, acting on specific information, a police team in the Sonitpur district launched a raid in the Bhalukpong market ...
- Kenya: At least 1 killed, houses torched by al-Shabab militants in Lamu
November 27, 2023
At least one person was killed and several houses were burnt in a raid on two villages in Kenya’s coastal Lamu county, a government official confirmed on Sunday. Lamu County Commissioner Louis Rono said heavily armed assailants raided Marafa and Poromoko villages at around 9 p.m. on Saturday and set several houses ablaze. Read more… Source: Shabelle Media ...
- Pakistan: Two civilians killed, 3 soldiers among 10 injured in suicide attack in Bannu
November 27, 2023
Two civilians died and 10 others, including three Pakistan Army soldiers, were injured in a suicide attack on a convoy of security forces in Baka Khel area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Monday. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) said that a “motorcycle borne suicide bomber” detonated ...
- U.S. Navy Detains 5 After Failed Attempt to Capture Merchant Ship, IKE in Persian Gulf
November 26, 2023
Five people suspected of attempting to hijack a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden are in U.S. Navy custody, a defense official confirmed to USNI News on Sunday. The five had boarded and attempted to take control of the M/V Central Park, a tanker owned by an Israeli businessman, on Sunday while the ship was ...
- Israeli-owned ship hit in suspected Iran drone attack
November 25, 2023
An Israeli-owned cargo ship was damaged in a suspected drone attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean, a US defence official said on Saturday. “We are aware of reports that there was a suspected IRGC-initiated Shahed-136 UAV (that) struck a civilian motor vessel in the Indian Ocean,” the official said, confirming the ...