Test run?
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Test run?
Is this a test run for something big somewhere?
By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 9/7/2011
No bomb on Pakistan plane in Malaysia: officials
A Pakistani passenger jet with 187 people on board landed in Kuala Lumpur following a bomb alert, but a search of the aircraft found no explosive devices on board, officials said Thursday.
The incident came shortly before another Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight bound for Britain was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Istanbul because of a similar bomb threat, the airline said.
The scheduled flight from the Pakistani city of Lahore to the Malaysian capital landed at 9:24 pm (1324 GMT) on Wednesday after a bomb threat was received while it was in mid-air.
"According to our people on the ground, the plane has been searched and they have not found any bomb, it appears to be a hoax," Pakistan High Commission official Hamid Raza Khan told AFP.
Airport authorities confirmed that police completed a search of the plane's cabin and cargo hold and "declared the aircraft to be cleared of any explosive materials."
"The checked-in luggage have been offloaded from the cargo compartment and screening of the luggage will be performed by the Bomb Disposal Unit and the K-nine Unit," the airport said in a statement.
Airport officials said they had received information from PIA officials of "an aircraft bomb warning" for Flight PK898 from Lahore to Kuala Lumpur at 8:45 pm.
"The flight PK898 safely landed at 9:24pm. The airline confirmed a total of 164 passengers, 3 cockpit crew and 10 cabin crew on board," the airport said.
Airport authorities said the aircraft was parked at an isolated bay at the airport while police investigated.
The airport said all the passengers had left the plane and were being held at a secure lounge while they were screened.
In the incident in Istanbul, a similar bomb alert forced a PIA plane from Lahore to Manchester to land at Ataturk airport on Wednesday.
That alert came as the aircraft was flying over the Bulgarian capital Sofia and caused panic among passengers, Turkey's state-run news agency Anatolia said.
After landing in Istanbul around 1400 GMT, the passengers were evacuated from the aircraft, which was moved to a security zone.
The Boeing 777-300EA had departed from Lahore bound for the British city of Manchester, a spokesman at Manchester airport told AFP.
A senior PIA official confirmed the two bomb threats.
"We received emails about the presence of bombs on two PIA flights," the official told AFP.
"Since the flights had taken off already, the pilots were directed to land at the nearest airport."
"One flight bound for Manchester landed in Istanbul and the second flight touched down at Kuala Lumpur," the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.
burs-rb/pdw
By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 9/7/2011
No bomb on Pakistan plane in Malaysia: officials
A Pakistani passenger jet with 187 people on board landed in Kuala Lumpur following a bomb alert, but a search of the aircraft found no explosive devices on board, officials said Thursday.
The incident came shortly before another Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight bound for Britain was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Istanbul because of a similar bomb threat, the airline said.
The scheduled flight from the Pakistani city of Lahore to the Malaysian capital landed at 9:24 pm (1324 GMT) on Wednesday after a bomb threat was received while it was in mid-air.
"According to our people on the ground, the plane has been searched and they have not found any bomb, it appears to be a hoax," Pakistan High Commission official Hamid Raza Khan told AFP.
Airport authorities confirmed that police completed a search of the plane's cabin and cargo hold and "declared the aircraft to be cleared of any explosive materials."
"The checked-in luggage have been offloaded from the cargo compartment and screening of the luggage will be performed by the Bomb Disposal Unit and the K-nine Unit," the airport said in a statement.
Airport officials said they had received information from PIA officials of "an aircraft bomb warning" for Flight PK898 from Lahore to Kuala Lumpur at 8:45 pm.
"The flight PK898 safely landed at 9:24pm. The airline confirmed a total of 164 passengers, 3 cockpit crew and 10 cabin crew on board," the airport said.
Airport authorities said the aircraft was parked at an isolated bay at the airport while police investigated.
The airport said all the passengers had left the plane and were being held at a secure lounge while they were screened.
In the incident in Istanbul, a similar bomb alert forced a PIA plane from Lahore to Manchester to land at Ataturk airport on Wednesday.
That alert came as the aircraft was flying over the Bulgarian capital Sofia and caused panic among passengers, Turkey's state-run news agency Anatolia said.
After landing in Istanbul around 1400 GMT, the passengers were evacuated from the aircraft, which was moved to a security zone.
The Boeing 777-300EA had departed from Lahore bound for the British city of Manchester, a spokesman at Manchester airport told AFP.
A senior PIA official confirmed the two bomb threats.
"We received emails about the presence of bombs on two PIA flights," the official told AFP.
"Since the flights had taken off already, the pilots were directed to land at the nearest airport."
"One flight bound for Manchester landed in Istanbul and the second flight touched down at Kuala Lumpur," the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.
burs-rb/pdw
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It's not inconceivable that the shadowy terrorist organisations will probe and test the soft targets as a test run to something major. The subcontinent and even SEAsia have pockets of sleeper cells ever trying to carry out such ventures. There is heightened alert in the US that will probably negate the efforts at terror but there are plenty of soft targets they can aim for to make their point. We all just have to be extra vigilant and resourceful to defeat this scourge.
