Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social media

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1. 1h ago

   Terrorist Images and Al-Qaeda Posts Found on Flydubai Suspect

   Investigating authorities discovered terrorist images and Al-Qaeda-related posts on the social media accounts of Hamam al-Hammami, the 29-year-old Omani co-pilot who attacked Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar with a crash axe during a Wednesday flight to Tel Aviv. Passengers and crew subdued the attacker after the aircraft plummeted 14,000 feet in 29 seconds. Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes if Tehran is linked to the incident. Online conspiracy theories also emerged, with thousands of posts blaming Israel and Mossad.

   Why it matters

   The incident exposes severe vulnerabilities in airline vetting procedures, as the suspect had previously been removed from Oman's national airline and banned from flying due to extremist views. Al-Hammami had plotted the hijacking before being hired by Flydubai and had attempted to secure pilot jobs with multiple other airlines. The attack triggered intense geopolitical scrutiny and viral disinformation campaigns across social platforms.

   What is confirmed

   • Hamam al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani co-pilot, attacked Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar with an onboard crash axe on a Wednesday flight bound for Israel.
   • The suspect was previously removed from his job at Oman's national airline last year due to concerns over his extremist views.
   • Posts praising terrorist groups appeared on the suspect's LinkedIn and Instagram accounts approximately nine hours after the incident.
   • Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes if Tehran is involved in the FlyDubai plane incident.

   Still unconfirmed

   • Israeli sources claim the suspect revealed during interrogation that he dreamed of crashing the plane into Tel Aviv's airport or tower complex and had planned the hijack weeks ago.
   • Reports claim the suspect called for women to be stomped on in religious rants while studying at a British university.

   What to watch next

   • Official findings from the ongoing interrogation of Hamam al-Hammami regarding any potential co-conspirators.
   • Any formal diplomatic or intelligence determinations linking Iran to the Flydubai flight incident.
   Sources used for this update (12)

   1. Fox News — Trump warns Iran of fresh strikes if Tehran involved in FlyDubai plane incident
   2. CNN — The Flydubai attack suspect was removed by another airline over concerns about his extremist views, sources say
   3. WSJ — Oman Had Previously Banned the FlyDubai Attacker From Flying
   4. theguardian.com — Flydubai co-pilot used crash axe to attack captain, says UAE
   5. BBC — Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe, UAE official says
   6. www.dailymail.com — 'Israeli 9/11 terrorist pilot dreamed of crashing plane into Tel Aviv's airport or tower complex and had planned to hijack flight weeks ago but didn't want to kill crew me…
   7. www.ynetnews.com — Flydubai attack conspiracies fact-checked: What the evidence really shows
   8. news.sbs.co.kr — "Al-Qaeda-Related Posts Found on Social Media of Copilot Who Tried to Crash Plane"
   9. www.dailymail.com — Flydubai hijacker called for women to be 'stomped on' in religious rants while studying at British university
   10. keyt.com — Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social media | News Channel 3-12
   11. www.cnn.com — Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social media | CNN
   12. www.news8000.com — Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social media ...
   confidence 90%