🔴 UAE investigators say Flydubai co-pilot was planning 'terrorist act'

UAE investigators say Omani Flydubai co-pilot was planning 'terrorist act' The Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain aboard a Flydubai flight to Israel on September 30 attempted to carry out a "terrorist" attack, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday. The alleged assailant, identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, had been barred from flying in his country due to his radical ideological views, several media reported. The co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a "terrorist" attack during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to the state news agency WAM. The co-pilot who is accused of having attacked the captain of the flight to Israel on September 30 had previously been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views, multiple media outlets reported. Scrutiny into the alleged assailant – who was identified in the reports as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami – and his motives has intensified after Wednesday's drama aboard a Dubai-Tel Aviv route that officials say narrowly avoided catastrophe. UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi's comments were the first by Emirati authorities to describe the incident as an attempted "terrorist" attack. Read moreNetanyahu warns of 'very heavy price' if any country found to be behind FlyDubai incident During the Flydubai flight, the jet's Indian captain was assaulted by his co-pilot but he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker and force an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the suspect had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination" and had attempted to crash the plane. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Omani authorities had banned the pilot from flying over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views, citing people familiar with the matter. CNN, citing two sources familiar with the matter, reported the pilot was removed from a job at Oman's national airline last year over concerns about extremist views. Al Arabiya, citing an informed source, reported that Omani authorities determined that the co-pilot held extremist views. The broadcaster said he had also spent time in Syria, raising concerns he may have been influenced by radical groups there. ABC News, citing senior intelligence and law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, reported the suspect had allegedly been found in possession of extremist materials while he was a trainee. (FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)