1 hour ago
Al-Qaida has called for copycat attacks targetting Americans and Israelis on planes, while referencing the September 30 cockpit attack on Captain Smit Machchhar by his FlyDubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami and the 9/11 terror attacks.
The warning appeared in the latest edition of al-Bayan, a weekly publication launched in July by pro-al-Qaida supporters, and referenced both the September 11, 2001, attacks and Wednesday's attempted takeover of flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The publication called on attacks on planes carrying Americans, Israelis and others it described as fighting Islam.
The development came as investigators examine the background and possible terror links of Hamam al-Hammami, who is in UAE custody. His social media accounts are under the scanner as they contained several al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.
“The war isn’t over yet – planes carrying Zionists, Americans and all the other infidels fighting against Islam are still hovering in the skies and could be targetted, as happened on September 11th and 30th,” the Arabic-language al-Bayan article said.
The threatening post accompanied the message with an image of a plane crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City (the 9/11 attacks) and another referencing the flydubai incident.
The publication also warned that the US and Israel had more enemies than before and declared that the "empire of evil America" would eventually end, The New York Post reported. Its Telegram channels appeared to circulate the article on Saturday before it was apparently taken down.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the attacker underwent Islamist radicalisation and intended to crash the plane with its passengers. Israeli officials have also said that al-Hammami had been exposed to extremist ideology.
WHAT ANTI-TERRORISM EXPERT SAYS
Anti-terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann initially believed al-Qaida was trying to capitalise on the flydubai attack. But material that subsequently appeared on social-media accounts linked to al-Hammami added what Kohlmann described as a significant new wrinkle.
"If this is accurate, then he probably isn't an ISIS supporter," Kohlmann told The New York Post, pointing instead to a reference to Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, an al-Qaida supporter who carried out a 2009 suicide bombing in Afghanistan.
A burst of posts appeared on LinkedIn and Instagram accounts bearing al-Hammami's name before the accounts were deleted. It remains unclear who published the material or whether the posts had been scheduled in advance, CNN reported.
One of the posts featured cockpit video clips, including footage appearing to zoom in on a nearby Israeli aircraft, before ending with an image of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former al-Qaida chief who succeeded Osama bin Laden and was killed in a US drone strike in 2022. The material also contained the reference to al-Balawi that caught Kohlmann's attention.
Kohlmann described al-Balawi as a largely self-made al-Qaida supporter who built a reputation on jihadist internet forums before establishing direct ties with the group after becoming an intelligence asset for Jordan and, ultimately, the CIA.
Kohlmann said the reference was striking partly because al-Hammami himself came from a professional aviation background. "It was a shock to everyone" that someone from such a professional background could carry out a suicide attack for al-Qaida, he said of al-Balawi, according to the Post.
WHO IS HAMAM AL-HAMMAMI?
Al-Hammami has been identified as the Omani co-pilot aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073. The flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30 when he attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft and apparently crash it.
Passengers and crew intervened after Machchhar opened the door from the inside despite being injured, and the aircraft eventually landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Al-Hammami had previously worked for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc before joining flydubai around eight months ago. He had come under scrutiny during his time at Oman Air over his extremist views and was removed from flying duties before being assigned an administrative role.
The claims about his earlier removal have not been publicly substantiated by Oman Air or Omani authorities.
The attack raised questions about how al-Hammami came to operate an Israel-bound flight despite the earlier concerns raised during his career. His previous employment, recruitment by flydubai and extremist materials are now being examined as part of the investigation.
The UAE has officially characterised the incident as a terrorist attack. Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said investigators continue to establish the full circumstances, motive and possible links.
- Ends
