Translated material
Plasticine "Al-Qaeda"
Turkish plane hijacking resulted in no casualties
The arrest of two attackers ended on Saturday at the airport in the Turkish resort of Antalya a farce that played out for four and a half hours on board a Turkish airline Atlas Jet with 136 passengers flying from Northern Cyprus to Istanbul. Half an hour after takeoff from Yerkan Airport in northern Cyprus, two hijackers demanded that the pilots change their route and land in Iran or Syria.One of the hijackers claimed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda and showed off a bag containing a wire wrapped around his wrist. Another hijacker threatened passengers with a knife. As it turned out later, instead of explosives, the bag contained several briquettes of children's plasticine. The hijackers explained the hijacking of the plane as a protest against US policy in the Middle East. After an unsuccessful attempt to break into the cockpit, the hijackers could only communicate with the crew through the armored door. The pilots convinced the attackers that in order to fly to Iran or Syria they should land in Antalya and refuel the car. Most likely, the crew deceived naive attackers, because the medium-range Em-di-83 is designed for flights with a range of about 3.5 thousand kilometers.
After landing at the airport, the terrorists continued negotiations with the crew and representatives of the Turkish security forces and the municipality of Antalya. Taking advantage of the fact that the hijackers were engrossed in negotiations, the passengers opened a ladder in the rear fuselage and climbed out of the plane on their own. The crew left the car through the cabin windows. The hijackers were left alone with two flight attendants and four passengers in their arms. By this time, the plane was surrounded by a detachment of Turkish special forces ready for the assault.
However, no forceful solution was required. After several hours of negotiations, the attackers released the remaining hostages and surrendered. The head of the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Osman Gunes, said that the terrorists were a Turkish citizen, 27-year-old Mehmet Reshat Ozlu, and a Palestinian, 25-year-old Mommen Abdul Aziz Talih, who had a Syrian passport. According to Turkish law, for hijacking a plane they will be punished with up to life imprisonment.