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.

The UK Liberals Love: Immigrant Detention Riot in Britain

You might have an immigration problem if…

“More than 150 illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers will be freed from custody after a riot wrecked Britain's biggest detention centre.
John Reid was forced to release the men back on to the streets after a wave of blazes and destruction lasting for more than 18 hours at Harmondsworth, in west London.
The farce was blamed on Labour's failure to provide enough cells for the huge number of illegal immigrants and foreign criminals waiting to be deported from the UK. The rioting, still not under full control late yesterday evening and sparked by guards turning off a television set, left large parts of the £70m centre out of action.
But - because prisons and other detention centres across the country are already full - the Home Secretary had nowhere to move the failed asylum seekers and overseas criminals being detained at Harmondsworth.
It forced him to order a clear out of 150 illegal immigrants - all of them awaiting removal from the UK - from other detention centres in London and the South East to make way for them.
They were 'bailed' and told to report regularly to the authorities - despite fears they will simply abscond. They are effectively being rewarded for the rioting of their fellow illegal immigrants, albeit indirectly.
In a second twist, it emerged immigration staff have been told not to detain any new suspected illegals or failed asylum seekers for the next 48-hours. Officials say it would be pointless as there is nowhere to put them.
Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green said: 'This outbreak is a symptom of a system out of control.'
Lin Homer, head of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, described the riots - which have already caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage - as a 'deliberate attempts at sabotage' by illegals hell-bent on remaining in the UK.”

Gee, Ya think?