Dubai, Oct 3 (EFE).- Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said Saturday that the “latest terrorist attack” involving Flydubai flight FZ1073 was a warning that the fight against extremism “has not ended.”
“The region’s fight against extremism persists, and justifying terrorism through hate speech is part of the danger, not a secondary aspect. The latest terrorist attack is a new warning that the confrontation is not over,” Gargash wrote on X.
He said the incident reinforced what he described as the UAE’s “firm and early stance” of “zero tolerance for extremism,” adding that combating hate speech was essential to security.
Attempted attack
The UAE Public Prosecution said Saturday that the unidentified co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 “initiated the execution of a terrorist attack” by attacking the pilot with an “emergency axe.”
According to the prosecution, the co-pilot “began to execute his plan during the flight” by assaulting the captain inside the cockpit and “attempting to take control of the aircraft’s controls.”
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shams said the investigation was continuing to establish the circumstances and motives behind the incident and to examine possible connections, as well as technical checks and physical and digital evidence.
He said the “final results will be announced once the necessary procedures are concluded.”
Reports of alleged extremist views
Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya and US media outlet CNN have reported, citing unnamed sources, that the co-pilot had previously been disqualified from flying in Oman after authorities there allegedly found he held “extremist ideas.”
According to Al Arabiya, the co-pilot, identified only by the initials H.A.H., left Oman after being dismissed from the country’s airline.
An unnamed source cited by the broadcaster said he may have been influenced by “radical groups” in Syria, where he had reportedly spent some time.
CNN reported that the co-pilot was born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother and had lived in the Emirates for several years.
An Israeli source cited by CNN said he had worked for Flydubai for only eight months and had previously worked for Royal Air Maroc, Morocco’s national airline.
Flydubai has so far said only that an official investigation will establish what happened.
Questions also remain about how the co-pilot obtained authorization to operate a flight to Tel Aviv.
The circumstances surrounding his employment and aviation authorization are among the issues that could be examined by investigators.
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who was injured in the incident, told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a call Friday that he felt the aircraft was going into a “nosedive” when he managed to open the cockpit door.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that authorities were investigating whether the person responsible for the attack “was sent by someone,” adding that “whoever sent him will pay dearly.”
Netanyahu also said the attacker had become “Islamically radicalized” and alleged that he intended to crash the aircraft with its passengers on board, most of whom were Israelis.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would respond “very hard” if it were confirmed that Iran was behind the incident.
The circumstances of the attack, the co-pilot’s motives and any possible links to other individuals or organizations remain under investigation. EFE
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