From the Associated Press: ANKARA, Turkey — Two men claiming to have a bomb hijacked a Turkish passenger plane on Saturday as it was heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul, officials and passengers said. One official said the hijackers were Iranians protesting against the U.S. At least two passengers claimed that the hijackers were members of Al Qaeda, but others said they had not heard the hijackers say that.

(Reuters) - Unidentified people leave the Atlasjet aircraft as it waits on the tarmac after being hijacked on its way to Istanbul from northern Cyprus, at Antalya Airport August 18, 2007. Nearly all the passengers on a plane hijacked on its way to Istanbul from northern Cyprus have left the aircraft and an operation to rescue the others is almost complete, Atlas Jet CEO Tuncay Doganer said. (Okan Ozer/Anatolian/Reuters)

AP: Turkish Airliner Hijacked on Way from Cyprus to Istanbul


MORE: The hijackers had asked that the Atlasjet Airlines plane carrying 136 passengers be diverted to Iran or Syria, but the pilots said they would have to refuel and landed the aircraft an hour after takeoff at Antalya airport in southwestern Turkey, said Tuncay Doganer, CEO of Atlasjet. ... four passengers and two crew members were left on the plane.





Brisbane Times: Suspected Al-Qaeda members hijack Turkish plane - The passengers said the hijackers appeared to be aged between 25 and 3O and spoke in Arabic and some English. "They said they were from Al-Qaeda. They tried to break the cabin door," Erhan Erkul, one of the passengers who fled, told the NTV channel. "After we landed, we managed to force open the back door and jumped out. The hijackers could not intervene, they were in the front of the plane," he said. Another passanger who managed to flee said the two men said they had a bomb and wanted to go to Syria. "They spoke in Arabic, sometimes they spoke in English. One of them spoke a little Turkish," said the woman, who was not identified. Another passenger, Hakki Dogusoy, said the hijackers had said they would not harm the passengers. "They said 'We are Muslims. You are Muslims too. We will not do you any harm'" Dogusoy, said.


[The ol' "we don't hurt other muslims" routine ... good thing the passengers didn't fall for it.]


CNN: Passenger jet hijacked in Turkey - The Turkish Ministry of Transportation said the pilots escaped through the cockpit windows. TV footage showed passengers running from the plane's side and back doors. Speaking to reporters shortly after the ordeal, Atlasjet CEO Tuncay Doganer said the identity of the hijackers was known, but that police or interior ministry officials would make the announcement. "There are a small number of people remaining. I estimate that in short period this operation will be finished," he said.





REUTERS: Video reports the Al Qaeda claimed affiliation and that at least one other coordinated passenger was also detained as part of this hijacking plot. Surely if the United States was not in Iraq ... they'd be "protesting" something else ...





AM FOLLOW-UP: The Jawa Report - Note to self - never fly in or to Turkey

  FNC reporting from Europe that one of the wanna-be Al Qaeda types was a Turkish National and the other was from Syria.

  Tammy Bruce notes the apparent cleansing of the story to eliminate the heroics (and smart thinking) by the passengers.


PM UPDATE: Hijackers used fake bomb - Men claiming al-Qaeda ties used play dough mock explosive to hold passengers and crew of Turkish plane hostage, authorities say ... The hijackers' motive remained unclear Saturday evening. One of the men was Turkish and the other was believed to be a Palestinian carrying a Syrian passport, Transport Minister Osman Gunes said. Earlier, Turkish Cypriot authorities said the men were Iranians protesting US policies. Gunes said the hijackers, identified as Mehmet Resat Ozlu, of Turkey, and Mommen Abdul Aziz Talikh, told an official they ''apologized to the Turkish nation'' for seizing the plane.


  NRO [Andy McCarthy] - No word yet on whether they [the passengers] will be sued for civil rights violations given this blatant exhibition of Islamophobia.