Moroccan Man Attempts Hijack, Wants Political Asylum in France
This just in…
MADRID, Spain — A fast-thinking pilot, with the help of passengers, fooled a gunman who had hijacked a jetliner flying from Africa to the Canary Islands, braking hard upon landing then quickly accelerating to knock the man down so travelers could pounce on him, Spanish officials said Friday.
A lone gunman brandishing two pistols hijacked the Air Mauritania Boeing 737, carrying 71 passengers and a crew of eight, Thursday evening shortly after it took off from the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott for Gran Canaria, one of Spain's Canary Islands, with a planned stopover in Nouadhibou in northern Mauritania.
He wanted to divert the plane to France so he could request political asylum, said Mohamed Ould Mohamed Cheikh, Mauritania's top police official.
The hijacker has been identified as Mohamed Abderraman, a 32-year-old Mauritanian, said an official with the Spanish Interior Ministry office on Tenerife, another of the islands in the Atlantic archipelago. He spoke under rules barring publication of his name. Mauritania has said the hijacker was a Moroccan from the Western Sahara.
The hijacker ordered the pilot to fly to France, but the crew told him there was not enough fuel.
There may be some hope for Spain after all. The real heroes in my opinion are the travelers who had to jump this guy. With two guns and God knows what else under his clothes, it was a true show of courage. Maybe with new leadership, Spain may be ready to rid the likes of Al Qaida in their country – maybe even a good ally in the War on Terror again.
MADRID, Spain — A fast-thinking pilot, with the help of passengers, fooled a gunman who had hijacked a jetliner flying from Africa to the Canary Islands, braking hard upon landing then quickly accelerating to knock the man down so travelers could pounce on him, Spanish officials said Friday.
A lone gunman brandishing two pistols hijacked the Air Mauritania Boeing 737, carrying 71 passengers and a crew of eight, Thursday evening shortly after it took off from the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott for Gran Canaria, one of Spain's Canary Islands, with a planned stopover in Nouadhibou in northern Mauritania.
He wanted to divert the plane to France so he could request political asylum, said Mohamed Ould Mohamed Cheikh, Mauritania's top police official.
The hijacker has been identified as Mohamed Abderraman, a 32-year-old Mauritanian, said an official with the Spanish Interior Ministry office on Tenerife, another of the islands in the Atlantic archipelago. He spoke under rules barring publication of his name. Mauritania has said the hijacker was a Moroccan from the Western Sahara.
The hijacker ordered the pilot to fly to France, but the crew told him there was not enough fuel.
There may be some hope for Spain after all. The real heroes in my opinion are the travelers who had to jump this guy. With two guns and God knows what else under his clothes, it was a true show of courage. Maybe with new leadership, Spain may be ready to rid the likes of Al Qaida in their country – maybe even a good ally in the War on Terror again.
Labels: uk dhimmis, war on terror
posted by Alpheus at 10:49 AM
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