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KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 - Authorities are revisiting a suspected al Qaeda plot to hijack a Malaysian airliner following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, The Telegraph reported.
Pointing to a court testimony by al Qaeda terrorist-turned-informer Saajid Badat, the paper reported him as saying that the mastermind behind an alleged conspiracy to hijack a Malaysian plane is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the main planner of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US dubbed “9/11”.
Badat told the court last Tuesday that a group of four to five Malaysians - including a pilot—appeared “ready to perform an act”, The Telegraph said in a report yesterday.
In a purported meeting at a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, Badat said that he had handed over a shoe bomb to the Malaysian group to access the plane’s cockpit if it was locked.
A woman places a lighted candle on a poster with messages expressing hope for passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 during a candlelight vigil in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A woman leaves a messages of support and hope for the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 as others pose for picture in central Kuala Lumpur March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
MAS CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, DCA chief Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar at the MH370 press conference at Sama Sama Hotel, on March 16, 2014. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
A person holding a smartphone takes a picture of the MH370 press conference at Sama Sama Hotel in Sepang, on March 16, 2014. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
A woman uses her mobile phone as she stands against a chalkboard with messages for family members of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, at an event to express solidarity in Subang Jaya March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
Women look at messages and well-wishes for family members of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 at an event to express solidarity in Subang Jaya March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A message for pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah (centre), captain of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, is pictured at an event to express solidarity to the family members of passengers onboard the plane, in Subang Jaya March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A Malaysian Army paratrooper patrols at the viewing gallery of the departure hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A woman holds up a sticker in support of the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 as she poses for a camera at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A woman writes well wishes on a banner for passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A Malaysian Army paratrooper patrols past banners of well wishes at the viewing gallery of the departure hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A woman writes well wishes on a banner for passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 16, 2014. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
Some women and children write messages and signatures on a 'Sign for MH370' banner at the viewing gallery in KLIA, on 16 March, 2014. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
A Navy officer puts his signature on a 'Sign for MH370' banner at the viewing gallery in KLIA, on 16 March, 2014. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
A journalist films the home of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid in Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A police car is seen coming from the compound of the home of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the captain of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, in Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A journalist from France films the entrance of the compound where the home of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the captain of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, is located in Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A hotel security personnel tries to keep the distance between a relative of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 from MAS representatives as the relative asks questions during a meeting at Lido Hotel in Beijing, March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
Passengers have their belongings screened by airport security at the departure hall of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
Relatives of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 chat after a meeting with representatives from the airline at Lido Hotel in Beijing, March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
A child is cuddled as relatives of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 attend a meeting with Malaysia Airlines at Lido Hotel in Beijing, March 16, 2014. — Reuters pic
Subramaniam Gurusamy, 60, on March 14, 2014 shows a portrait of his son Puspanathan who was onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight at his home near Kuala Lumpur. — AFP pic
Japan Coast Guard personnel conduct a briefing outside their Gulfstream V Jet aircraft, customised for search and rescue operations, at Subang Airport March 15, 2014. — Reuters pic
Messages of support and hope for the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 are placed at the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 15, 2014. — Reuters pic
A Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency pilot studies the map onboard a Japan Coast Guard aircraft searching for the missing MH370 plane over the South China Sea March 15, 2014. — Reuters pic
“So I said, ‘How about I give you one of my bombs to open the cockpit door?” said Badat, who was testifying at the New York trial of deceased al Qaeda leader’s son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith.
“I gave one of my shoes to the Malaysians. I think it was to access the cockpit,” the British-born Muslim also reportedly said in court through a video link from the UK.
Describing the alleged group as “Malaysian Islamists” and “jihadists” (freedom fighters), The Telegraph also reported that security experts felt Badat’s testimony as a convicted terrorist was “credible”.
The Telegraph noted that Badat - who is still serving a 13-year jail sentence since 2005 for his role in a conspiracy with Richard Reid to detonate a shoe bomb on a plane - had already claimed in 2012 that a Malaysian group was plotting to hijack a plane.
In the 2012 trial of American Adis Medunjanin over a conspiracy to bomb the New York subways, Badat had spoken on the purported Malaysian plot, saying: “I learnt that they had a group, uh, ready to perform a similar hijacking to 9/11.”
He had also then claimed that he provided the Malaysians with one of his shoes, which both contained explosives.
Yesterday, Malaysia confirmed that the missing plane’s communication systems were disabled manually and was deliberately flown off course, but stopped short of saying that the Boeing 777-200 ER plane initially bound for Beijing was hijacked.
Prof Anthony Glees, director of the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies said a terrorism attempt could be possible, saying that he believed the change of the Malaysian plane’s flight path indicated a hijack.
“Evidence that it turned back to Malaysia means that this could easily have been a Malaysian Islamist plot to turn the plane into a 9/11-style bomb to fly it into a building in Kuala Lumpur.
“Now we know there is evidence of a Malaysian terror cell with ambitions to carry out such an attack and so this makes it even more credible,” Prof Glees was quoted saying by The Telegraph.
The Telegraph also listed down instances where Malaysians were arrested for alleged connections to al-Qaeda or another terrorist group linked to the organisation, Jemaah Islamiah.
Despite confirmation that two passengers on the MH370 flight were Iranians using stolen passports, Interpol said they were unlikely to be terrorists.
Yesterday, news agency AFP reported Adam Dolnik - professor of terrorism studies at Australia’s University of Wollongong - as saying that the MH370 flight was likely not linked to terrorism with the stolen passports having an “amateurish” element.
“Terrorists don’t do (hijackings), because the chances of success have gone down,” Dolnik said, pointing out the difficulties in taking weapons and subduing passengers.
Putrajaya yesterday announced that the investigation into MH370 will refocus on the plane’s crew and passengers.
Yesterday, police searched the houses of captain Zaharie Ahmad Shat and his co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, shortly after Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the flight was diverted deliberately after someone on board switched off the plane’s communications systems.