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Plane headed for Turkey from Cyprus hijacked

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ANKARA (Reuters) - A plane heading for Istanbul from Cyprus was hijacked and landed for refueling in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, private broadcaster CNN Turk reported.

 

The hijacker wanted the plane to fly to Tehran, it said.

 

No other details were immediately available.

 

I wonder which airline is it... And hope all passengers will be safe and sound.

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Additional info from BBC

 

An official from the airline, Atlas Jet, said there were 136 passengers and six crew on the plane when it left Ercan Airport in Northern Cyprus.

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for more fresh news ;

 

aircraft leased by WorldFocus airlines MD90(or MD8X) which is flying on behalf Atlasjet in peak session. as the latest news passangers were released after 3 hrs and all of them are safety in terminal building now. Local security and goverment officiers continue negotiation with hijcakers. Meanwhile, there is no pilots in the cockpit at this time. After landing pilots were evacuated from cockpit windows for getting advantage against hijackers about retakeoff after refueling.But probably there will be no refueling and forcing surrender without any police forces.

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for more fresh news ;aircraft leased by WorldFocus airlines MD90(or MD8X) which is flying on behalf Atlasjet in peak session. as the latest news passangers were released after 3 hrs and all of them are safety in terminal building now. Local security and goverment officiers continue negotiation with hijcakers. Meanwhile, there is no pilots in the cockpit at this time. After landing pilots were evacuated from cockpit windows for getting advantage against hijackers about retakeoff after refueling.But probably there will be no refueling and forcing surrender without any police forces.
Good job.

 

 

 

Turkish plane hijack ends as all freedBy Mehmet TikirANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters)

 

- A Turkish plane heading for Istanbul from northern Cyprus was hijacked on Saturday, but the hijackers gave themselves up and released all hostages five hours after forcing the plane to land in Turkey.CEO of Atlas Jet airline Tuncay Doganer confirmed that the hijack of the passenger plane, which was bringing 136 passengers from northern Cyprus's Ercan airport, had come to an end.

 

The identity of the hijackers was still unclear: the transport minister of Turkish-backed breakaway northern Cyprus, Salih Usar, said they were two Iranians protesting against the United States. But Turkey's Cihan news agency reported one was Palestinian and the other Turkish.

 

Soon after the plane was forced to land for refueling -- as it did not have enough fuel to go to Tehran as the hijackers wanted -- most of the passengers were either released or broke out through emergency exits.The pilots also left but four passengers and two crew members had remained on board as negotiations took place.Cyprus, a major tourist destination, is divided between the internationally recognized government in the south and an enclave in the north recognized only by Ankara.

 

Plane hijacks and bomb threats are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left militants operate. In the last year or so several incidents have been resolved without any passengers being harmed.Turkey has warm relations with Iran.

 

(Additional reporting by Anil Isik in Ercan)

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL1824462620070818

Edited by Min Chun

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Turkish Aircraft Hijacked, Passengers Freed

August 20, 2007

One of two men who hijacked a plane heading for Istanbul from northern Cyprus was trained in camps run by al Qaeda militants and planned to flee to Afghanistan, Turkish media reports said on Monday.

 

The two hijackers surrendered and released their hostages after forcing the Atlas Jet plane to land in southern Turkey on Saturday with the threat of a "bomb" which turned out to be modeling clay with wires attached.

 

Officials said the pair had demanded to be taken to Tehran. Broadcaster CNN Turk said the two had met in northern Cyprus a year ago and their ultimate goal was to reach Afghanistan and join al Qaeda.

 

It quoted police officials in the southern city of Antalya as saying one of the hijackers was Turkish and the other an Egyptian born in Cairo in 1974, who had received training in al Qaeda camps. It did not specify where the camps were.

 

Newspapers carried similar reports.

 

Previous reports have said one of the hijackers was a Syrian passport-holder, thought to be Palestinian.

 

The plane was hijacked as it brought 136 passengers from northern Cyprus -- a destination popular with Turkish and foreign tourists -- to Istanbul.

 

One of the hijackers had tried to force the cockpit door open 15 minutes after take-off and told passengers he was a member of al Qaeda.

 

Most passengers were quickly released or escaped through emergency exits but six crew and passengers were held hostage until the hijackers surrendered about five hours after forcing the plane to land.

 

Hijackings are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left militants operate, and several incidents in the last year or so have ended without casualties.

 

(Reuters)

 

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Turkish Court Charges Plane Hijackers

 

August 23, 2007

A Turkish court has charged two men with hijacking after they sought to seize control of a plane heading for Istanbul from northern Cyprus at the weekend, state-run Anatolian news agency said on Thursday.

 

The two hijackers surrendered and released their hostages after forcing the Atlas Jet plane to land in southern Turkey on Saturday. They had said they had a bomb, which turned out to be modeling clay with wires attached.

 

Late on Wednesday, a court in the southern resort city of Antalya charged the men with "hijacking a plane, membership in an armed terror group and threatening people's freedom" and sent them to an Antalya prison to await trial, the agency said.

 

Officials said the pair had demanded to be taken to Tehran and media reports have said one of the men was trained in camps run by al Qaeda militants and planned to flee to Afghanistan.

 

The two have been identified as a Turkish man and an Egyptian born in Cairo in 1974.

 

The plane was hijacked as it brought 136 passengers from northern Cyprus -- a destination popular with Turkish and foreign tourists -- to Istanbul.

 

Most passengers were quickly released or escaped through emergency exits but six crew and passengers were held hostage until the hijackers surrendered about five hours after forcing the plane to land.

 

Hijackings are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left militants operate.

 

(Reuters)

 

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Hijackings are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left militants operate.

 

hmmm, I can't agree with this finish sentence. Airport security are really serious in Turkey, thatswhy never lived a serious threat with real weapon in any hijack event. Except a few attempt loong times ago around 1970s.

 

on the last events, cabin crew just do that they job against "real bomb or weapon" possibility.So I'm sure this procedure the same like whole of the world.

 

however we have some interesting political and ethnic problem but problem source is not Turkey origin. The most of them effect from Iraq war, politics sensitivity of middleeast and Iraq region.

 

hijack is one of serious and heavy crime according Turkey laws. Probably, that twod10t guy will be get at least 20 years in prison!

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