BTW, FWIW, it was the saudis not iranians,,,
MEDINA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Three people were killed when Saudi commandos stormed a Russian airliner and freed more than 100 passengers in the city of Medina Friday from hijackers who had threatened to blow up the plane.
The Saudi Interior Ministry said the troops had shot dead one hijacker after he killed a woman hostage, and that one other hostage had also died in the raid, which was carried out in broad daylight on the airport tarmac.
The hijackers, claiming to be Chechens, seized the airliner Thursday after it took off from Istanbul and forced it to fly to Saudi Arabia. There, they demanded that Russia end its tough military campaign in the rebel Muslim region of Chechnya (news - web sites).
The ministry said the attack was launched when the hijackers threatened to blow up the plane, operated by Russia's Vnukovo Airlines, after negotiations stalled.
``Saudi special forces stormed the plane and rescued the passengers and crew without the participation of any outside party,'' said Interior Minister Prince Nayef.
A Russian offer to send a crack squad to rescue the hostages was turned down, the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.
Television showed the Saudi commandos, wearing flak jackets and helmets, scaling ladders and battering their way through the plane's doors over 21 hours after the drama began.
In Moscow, a senior Russian official said: ``According to our information, three people died during the operation -- one of the terrorists, the youngest one; a female flight attendant and one Turkish passenger.''
Hijackers Apprehended
The ministry did not say how many hijackers were arrested. But Saudi television showed footage in which commandos wrestled three men to the tarmac and tied their hands behind their backs. Russian officials had earlier said there were four hijackers.
A Russian diplomat in Saudi Arabia said Russia planned to request the extradition of the hijackers. He said Russia was sending a plane to fly the hostages home, probably Saturday.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) said the hijacking was a reminder of why Russia had sent troops into Chechnya in 1999 on what it calls a counter-terrorist operation.
``The heads of the secret services must concentrate their attention on getting pre-emptive information about the acts and plans of the ringleaders of the bandit formations, wherever they are, in Russia or outside it,'' he added in televised comments.
One Russian woman passenger said after being taken to a hotel in Medina: ``I saw three hijackers. They treated us well, but sometimes they threatened to blow up the plane. We were frightened and worried. I am tired now.''
Another woman, choked by tears, refused to talk, while other freed hostages gathered in the hotel lobby.
The aircraft, with 162 passengers and 12 crew on board, was bound for Moscow when it was seized. More than 40 hostages were released or escaped in Medina before the plane was stormed. A flight attendant stabbed by the hijackers was among those freed.
Hours of negotiations preceded the commando operation. Shortly before it began, hijackers were shown on television talking with a Saudi negotiator on the steps of the plane, parked in a remote part of the airport runway.
Chechen Flag
A red, green and white striped Chechen flag was draped over the open door of the Tupolev 154.
After the storming, some hostages emerged onto the wing with their hands in the air. Others, clearly tired and frightened, poured down the stairs into waiting buses. One woman was brought out on a stretcher.
A Saudi airport official said the hijackers had demanded enough fuel to fly 3,000 miles. He did not say where they wanted to go. Officials said Saudi negotiators had demanded the release of all hostages.
A Russian diplomat in Saudi Arabia said the hijackers' leader was a ``highly trained military officer who appears to know what he is doing.''
In Amman, a representative of the former Chechen republic, Atfayva Fariza, identified him as Artsayev Aslambik.
Asked to comment on suggestions that Fariza was referring to former general and Chechen interior minister Aslanbek Arsayev, the diplomat said: ``It could well be true. But we are not 100-percent sure.''
A pro-Chechen press agency which describes itself as the outlet for statements by separatist forces in Chechnya said the rebels had nothing to do with the hijack because ''hostage-taking and blackmail are not our way of fighting.''
Arsayev promised to establish a ``cult of law'' in Chechnya amid rampant kidnapping by armed bands and illegal oil refining, but failed to achieve substantial results. |
