Aftermath of Flydubai incident: fresh threat of attacks on planes carrying US, Israeli passengers
Photo: Collected
After the alleged attempt to crash an aircraft by stabbing the pilot on a Flydubai plane, a publication supportive of al-Qaeda has now called for similar attacks on planes carrying US and Israeli passengers.
Referring to the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001, the call says, ‘The war is not over yet.’ The incident has created fresh concern over the security of Middle East air routes and the vetting of foreign pilots.
A Hindustan Times report says the call was made in the latest issue of ‘Al-Bayan’, a weekly publication brought out by al-Qaeda supporters. Citing the New York Post, the report says the publication was launched in July and is being circulated through pro-al-Qaeda elements.
According to the report, the Al-Bayan article calls for targeting planes carrying the United States, Israel and others identified as anti-Islam. Besides the 11 September attacks, the article also mentions the Flydubai incident of 30 September.
The article also threatens to make the United States the target of further attacks. At the same time it says the United States and Israel now have more enemies than before. The publication’s statement later also spread on al-Qaeda-linked Telegram channels, the report notes. However, how far al-Qaeda’s central leadership is directly involved in this propaganda could not be independently confirmed.
In the background of this threat is the incident on Flydubai flight FZ1073 on 30 September. The plane, bound from Dubai for Tel Aviv, had 174 passengers and crew on board. After the aircraft set off for Israel, a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the main pilot and tried to crash the plane. The attacker was brought under control with the help of passengers and other crew, and the plane later landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the pilot injured in the attack was Captain Smit Machhar, an Indian national. After the incident, Israel announced it would further tighten security vetting of pilots of aircraft arriving in the country. However, Flydubai cautioned at the time that it was better not to jump to any conclusion about the incident and that many matters were still not clear.
Co-pilot Hamam al-Hamami, an Omani national, has been detained in the investigation. Some of his social media activity has also come to the notice of investigators. Hindustan Times reported that a few hours after the incident, photos and videos of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and other militant figures were seen on social media accounts that appeared to be linked to him. However, it is still not clear whether Hamam made these posts himself, or whether they had been scheduled in advance or published by someone else. The accounts linked to him were later deleted.
Citing Israeli media, it is further said that investigators are examining Hamam’s possible radicalisation. One report claims he may have been influenced by extremist ideology through contact and meetings with certain religious figures. However, the investigation is still ongoing, and the motive for the attack and any possible organisational links have not been conclusively established.
The Flydubai incident has already brought to the fore an important question of aviation security — how effective the vetting of pilots serving on international flights is. A Reuters report says that although security vetting of pilots was made much stricter after the 9/11 attacks, there are differences in how different countries and airlines carry out that vetting. According to aviation security experts, pilots are assessed not only at the time of recruitment but also through regular evaluations of their health and mental fitness.
Doron Spielman, spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, said verification of the identity and security-related information of the pilot of every Israel-bound flight will be further increased. However, on 4 October a representative of Israel’s transport ministry said they do not have the capacity to check the intelligence background of foreign pilots and that security vetting of foreign airlines’ pilots is mainly the responsibility of the airline concerned.
The fresh call for ‘copycat’ attacks in the pro-al-Qaeda publication has come at a time when an investigation is under way into the real motive behind the Flydubai incident and the attacker’s possible ideological links. So although the threat is not proof of any imminent attack, it is being seen as a new warning for aviation security agencies.
In particular, if a single crew member inside an aircraft becomes a major security risk, then how effective the arrangements are for vetting the identity, mental state, ideological risk and past activities of pilots and crew, beyond the conventional passenger security system — that is the question that has now become the most important.
Source: Hindustan Times.
