Srinagar, Oct 1: The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday the militant group had attacked a power distribution station in Medina this week, putting one transformer out of service but without affecting the electricity network.

The coalition said an investigation and examination of drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out Tuesday’s attack. It said the station supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites.

A Houthi military source, quoted by the Houthi-run Saba news ⁠agency, denied the accusation, calling it a “lie” and saying it was intended to cover up what he described as Saudi Arabia’s failure to substantiate its earlier accusation that the Houthis targeted the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

Saudi Arabia said two weeks ago it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered restricted airspace over the city. The coalition described that incident as the second Houthi attempt to target Mecca since 2017, while the Houthis denied ⁠targeting Mecca or any other Islamic holy site.

The coalition said the Medina attack was part of what it described as repeated Houthi attempts to target the Two Holy Mosques and “provoke” Muslims worldwide. It said it would continue taking measures to protect the holy sites ⁠and pilgrims.

The latest escalation is the most serious fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022. Hostilities resumed this ⁠year after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and began attacking Saudi territory and shipping, while Houthi forces also made major ⁠territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes in Yemen and backed government forces fighting to push back the Houthis. 

Meanwhile, the President of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Prof. Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais, condemned the continued targeting of Makkah and Madinah by the terrorist Houthi group.

In a statement issued, he emphasized that these criminal acts constitute a blatant assault on the sanctity of the holy sites and a flagrant violation of Islamic teachings, which prohibit aggression and corruption on earth and require the veneration of the sacred sites and the preservation of their security.

He further stressed that targeting civilians, facilities, and holy sites is a religiously prohibited crime, condemned on humanitarian grounds, and contrary to international treaties and norms. He affirmed that these attacks will not undermine the Kingdom’s security and stability, but will only strengthen its leadership and people’s resolve and determination to protect its holy sites, safeguard the security of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, and confront anything that threatens the nation’s security and the safety of those who visit the holy sites. (With inputs from Reuters)

Jerusalem, Oct 1: President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran may be linked to the FlyDubai copilot who tried to crash an Israel-bound plane as investigators worked to determine why the copilot stabbed the flight’s captain, causing the plane to plummet before others on board landed it in Saudi Arabia.

Trump was asked by reporters at the White House whether he had been briefed about any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran. He said, “We’re working on it right now.”

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said. He did not offer details.

Asked if the US would retaliate against Tehran if it was behind the attack, Trump said, “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry.”

“You just ask them,” he added. “They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”

Passengers got into cockpit to take control of jet

Passengers on the FlyDubai plane — which was carrying 174 people, mostly Israelis, from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv — have described how the bloodied Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door to let them in before they grappled with the copilot and stabilised a descent so sharp that the plane’s rudder was torn away.

“We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn’t know who to turn to. But it was all instinct to survive,” Asaf Rajuan, who was among those who intervened, said in a statement shared by Israel’s presidency.

A regional official briefed on the investigation said the suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest and confirmed that Saudi authorities were working with countries, including Israel, to try to determine a motive. He said the UAE, the United States and Oman also were involved.

“All possible scenarios, from terrorism to mental disorders, are being looked into. Nothing is ruled out for now,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss an ongoing probe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without giving details, claimed the attacker underwent Islamist indoctrination. Asked who helped radicalise him, the prime minister told Fox News channel’s “Fox and Friends” he did not know.

When asked by The Associated Press how the prime minister knew the copilot underwent indoctrination, Netanyahu’s office said it would not comment.

Netanyahu told Fox that the suspect apparently got through a loophole in Israeli aviation rules that normally bar pilots from flying to Israel if they are from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, which Oman does not.

The copilot has not been publicly identified. Video shot inside the plane by Dr. Shota Musayev, a dentist who treated the captain, shows the copilot on his knees, with his hands tied behind his back.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, widely praised as one of the heroes of the flight, was recovering in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi, the Indian government said Thursday.

It was not clear what the copilot used as a weapon.

Israeli investigators will join the interrogation of the copilot

Israeli intelligence and security officials were in Saudi Arabia to help investigate the copilot, according to another regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Israel has requested that the copilot be sent to Israel for the investigation, though it is unclear if that request will be granted, the official said.

Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, but the countries have long cooperated on security and intelligence matters through alternative channels.

The UAE government said its own investigation team had begun looking into the attack and “whether it was linked to any terrorist purpose,” noting that Emirati authorities have jurisdiction because the plane is registered there and UAE law applies to crimes committed on board.

Asked if there is any indication of Iranian involvement, Netanyahu told Fox News “it’s too early to say.”

Netanyahu earlier said he also spoke with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Netanyahu discussed the incident “at length” by phone and it seemed as though the copilot “was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.”

Oman’s government has not commented.

Israel says it received no specific warning of an attack

Netanyahu had warned in recent days of heightened security threats, though he told CNN that Israel had received no specific warning. The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which has triggered the war in Gaza — and weeks away from an election.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said most of the people on board were from Israel, along with others from India and the UAE. The US State Department said four passengers had American citizenship.

FlyDubai has said its flights to and from Israel would be suspended. Netanyahu told CBS that Israel plans to fly home anyone stranded in Dubai as a result.

Someone in cockpit sent out discreet distress codes

Someone in the cockpit sent out two four-digit codes to discreetly signal distress while the plane flew erratically near the Jordanian border with Saudi Arabia, according to Flightradar24.com. The first code was “7700,” the universal “squawk” signal for an emergency, then “7500,” which indicates unlawful interference, including a possible hijacking.

The codes are used by pilots when speaking over the radio may not be possible or wise.

FlyDubai said Wednesday that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.” A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

School where captain trained calls safe landing ‘miraculous’

In the chaos that began about two and a half hours after takeoff, the flight descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (around 10,000 metres to 5,100 metres) in about a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and landing in Tabuk, according to Flightradar24. The site identified the aircraft as a Boeing 737 Max 8.

FlyDubai said crew members helped secure the plane but released no details about them.

The head of the New Zealand flight school where the Indian captain trained, Philip Kean, called it “miraculous” that the aircraft, which was never designed for that sort of dive, did not break up completely.

During the frantic search for a place to land, a person who heard the flight’s communications with air traffic control described the plane being turned away by Saudi Arabia and Jordan before eventually landing in Tabuk in Saudi Arabia while passengers screamed in the background. The pilot’s voice was trembling as he called “mayday” and said a hijacking was taking place.

The air traffic controllers gave no reason for the refusals. The person who heard the communications spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

London, Oct 1: British police have arrested a dual UK-Iranian national on suspicion of plotting a terror attack following a security incident at a US-run air base on the weekend.

The 27-year-old man was arrested in London on Thursday, and police have searched two properties in the UK capital.

On Sunday, five men, all in their 20s and from London, were arrested over the incident at RAF Fairford, which has been used by American bombers to strike Iran. They have since been released on bail.

Counter-terror police said a second man, a 26-year-old UK national, has also been questioned under caution.

“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles — including possible foreign state involvement,” the senior national coordinator for counter terrorism policing for the Metropolitan Police, Vicki Evans, said. “I’d like to thank the public for their continued support and patience whilst we work through this investigation.” (AP)

Jerusalem, Oct 1: Investigators worked Thursday to determine why an Omani pilot stabbed the captain of a flight to Israel, causing the plane to plummet dangerously before others on board landed it in Saudi Arabia.

Passengers on the FlyDubai plane – which was carrying 174 people, mostly Israelis, from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv – have described how the bloodied Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door to let them in before they grappled with the copilot and stabilised a descent so sharp that the plane’s rudder was torn away.

“We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn’t know who to turn to. But it was all instinct to survive,” Asaf Rajuan, who was among those who intervened, said in a statement shared by Israel’s presidency.

A regional official briefed on the investigation said the suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest and confirmed that Saudi authorities were working with countries, including Israel, to try to determine a motive. He said the UAE, the United States and Oman also were involved.

“All possible scenarios, from terrorism to mental disorders, are being looked into. Nothing is ruled out for now,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss an ongoing probe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without giving details, claimed the attacker underwent Islamist indoctrination.

Asked who helped radicalise him, the prime minister told Fox News channel’s “Fox and Friends” he did not know.

When asked by The Associated Press how the prime minister knew the copilot underwent indoctrination, Netanyahu’s office said it would not comment.

The copilot has not been publicly identified. Video shot inside the plane by Shota Musayev, a dentist who treated the captain, shows the copilot on his knees, with his hands tied behind his back.

Capt Smit Machchhar, widely praised as one of the heroes of the flight, was reportedly in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said overnight.

Israeli investigators will join interrogation of copilot

Israeli intelligence and security officials were in Saudi Arabia to help investigate the copilot, according to another regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Israel has requested that the copilot be sent to Israel for the investigation, though it is unclear if that request will be granted, the official said.

Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, but the countries have long cooperated on security and intelligence matters through alternative channels.

The UAE government said its own investigation team had begun looking into the attack and “whether it was linked to any terrorist purpose,” noting that Emirati authorities have jurisdiction because the plane is registered there and UAE law applies to crimes committed on board.

Asked if there is any indication of Iranian involvement, Netanyahu told Fox News “it’s too early to say”.

Netanyahu earlier said he also spoke with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect.

US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Netanyahu discussed the incident “at length” by phone and it seemed as though the copilot “was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job”.

Oman’s government, which doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Israel, has not commented.

Israel says it received no specific warning of attack

Netanyahu had warned in recent days of heightened security threats, though he told CNN that Israel had received no specific warning. The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which has triggered the war in Gaza, and weeks away from an election.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said most of the people on board were from Israel, along with others from India and the UAE. The US State Department said four passengers had American citizenship.

FlyDubai has said its flights to and from Israel would be suspended. Netanyahu told CBS that Israel plans to fly home anyone stranded in Dubai as a result.

School where captain trained calls safe landing ‘miraculous’

In the chaos that began about two and a half hours after takeoff, the flight descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and landing in Tabuk, according to Flightradar24. The site identified the aircraft as a Boeing 737 Max 8.

FlyDubai said crew members on board helped secure the plane but released no details about them.

The head of the New Zealand flight school where the Indian captain trained, Philip Kean, called it “miraculous in the way that the airplane was never, ever kind of designed for that sort of dive and survive that, the airplane actually didn’t break up completely”.

During the frantic search for a place to land, a person who heard the flight’s communications with air traffic control described the plane being turned away by Saudi Arabia and Jordan before eventually landing in Tabuk in Saudi Arabia while passengers screamed in the background.

The pilot’s voice was trembling as he called “mayday” and said a hijacking was taking place.

The air traffic controllers gave no reason for the refusals. The person who heard the communications spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. (AP)