Netanyahu: FlyDubai co-pilot underwent Islamist radicalization

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the co-pilot of FlyDubai flight FZ 1073 to Tel Aviv had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and attempted to crash the plane. According to him, during the incident the attacker shouted at the crew, “Kill me, kill me,” which the prime minister says points directly to an attempted suicide attack.

The alleged attacker is currently in Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates' attorney general has ordered an investigation into the incident on board the aircraft. According to Netanyahu, the man — an Omani citizen — is expected to be handed over to Dubai for questioning shortly. “We will join the interrogation and find out exactly what happened there,” the Israeli prime minister said. He added that it is still too early to say whether Iran was involved in planning the attack, but more specific information is expected soon.

Citing its own sources, The Times of Israel reported that the suspect had previously discussed killing Jews on social media. According to the outlet's source, this was a man prepared to take his own life: his social media accounts clearly show radicalization under jihadist ideology, and in his posts he talked about killing Jews. “It really looks like the attacker was a suicide bomber who tried to crash the plane,” the Times of Israel source concluded.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz