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Attempted hijacker questioned in Turkey...
An Israeli-Arab man who tried to storm the cockpit of an Israeli jetliner told interrogators he wanted to crash the plane into a Tel Aviv building in a Sept. 11-like attack, Turkey's private NTV television reported Monday.Not very original, is he? Security guards aboard the airliner on Sunday overpowered the man, who was apparently armed with a pocket knife and threatened a stewardess. None of the 170 passengers on board the Boeing 757 were harmed and the plane landed safely.The suspect, identified by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as 23-year-old Israeli Arab, Tawfiq Fukra, was being questioned by anti-terrorism squads in Istanbul. Anatolia quoted Fukra as telling interrogators he had "carried out the action to protest" against Israel. Turkish anti-terrorism squads have magnificent moustachios. They've been making the finest truncheons in the world since 1483. Army Radio quoted Fukra's father, Salah, as saying his son shouldn't be called a hijacker just because he fought with a stewardess. Okay Cakirlar, an official at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport, said El Al Flight 581 sent out a hijacking signal as it approached Istanbul. The man first threatened a flight attendant with a knife and then kicked the door of the cockpit but the door was locked, some passengers said. Security guards posing as a passengers subdued him, they said. "Nope. Nope. M'boy's not a hijacker. He's, ummm... something else." He said his son was going to Turkey for vacation. Looks like it'll be a lo-o-o-o-o-ng vacation. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-11-18 |
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