Hijacker of Turkish plane receives training at al-Qaida camp

Hijacker of Turkish plane receives training at al-Qaida camp

An Egyptian hijacker who was in command of a Turkish passenger plane together with a Turkish citizen had gone through training programs at an al-Qaida camp and wanted to be flown to Iran and to join al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

The two men, wielding a fake bomb and claiming al-Qaida ties, hijacked the plane early Saturday after it took off from northern Cyprus, and held passengers and crew hostage for more than four hours before surrendering peacefully at Turkish Mediterranean resort Antalya.