ELF Fedaeen who attempted to highjack an Ethiopian Airline plane bound to Addis via Athens from Madrid in Nov 1969
Posted: 16 May 2020, 06:57
ELF Fedaeen who attempted to highjack an Ethiopian Airlines plane bound to Addis via Athens from Madrid in November 1969. Ali Mohamed Omer, Hamid Shateen, and Mahmoud Suleiman. Ali and Hamid were killed in the plane and Mahmoud was arrested in Madrid. The nationalities indicated may show the passports they held. Thanks to Biniam Hirut for sharing the picture. Below is the whole story
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It took place in November 1969, and the aim was to highjack an Ethiopian Airline plane, a Boeing 720 that was on route from Madrid to Addis through Athens. The three Fedayeen arrived at Madrid Airport from Rome. While they were at the airport lounge, security officers at the airport were suspicious of a handbag that was with one of them. They searched the bag and found weapons in it and so he was arrested. The other two boarded the plane without knowing that their colleague was arrested in Madrid.
Ethiopia had tightened security at its airplanes. There were 12 security men at that plane, armed with rubber bullets. When the two Fedayeen boarded the plane, they found that some of the front seats had cards on them that indicated they were reserved so that two persons could not sit together. When the plane took off, the security officers who had identified the Fedayeen, stabbed them with daggers, and killed them. A Champagne was served to the passengers as a form of celebration. When the plane landed at Athens, the Airport authorities refused to arrest those involved, making an excuse that the murder did not take place at Greek territory and the plane was allowed to continue its journey to Addis. The two who were martyred at that operation were Ali Mohamed Omer and Hamid Shateen. Their colleague who was arrested in Spain for several years was Mahmoud Suleiman.
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It took place in November 1969, and the aim was to highjack an Ethiopian Airline plane, a Boeing 720 that was on route from Madrid to Addis through Athens. The three Fedayeen arrived at Madrid Airport from Rome. While they were at the airport lounge, security officers at the airport were suspicious of a handbag that was with one of them. They searched the bag and found weapons in it and so he was arrested. The other two boarded the plane without knowing that their colleague was arrested in Madrid.
Ethiopia had tightened security at its airplanes. There were 12 security men at that plane, armed with rubber bullets. When the two Fedayeen boarded the plane, they found that some of the front seats had cards on them that indicated they were reserved so that two persons could not sit together. When the plane took off, the security officers who had identified the Fedayeen, stabbed them with daggers, and killed them. A Champagne was served to the passengers as a form of celebration. When the plane landed at Athens, the Airport authorities refused to arrest those involved, making an excuse that the murder did not take place at Greek territory and the plane was allowed to continue its journey to Addis. The two who were martyred at that operation were Ali Mohamed Omer and Hamid Shateen. Their colleague who was arrested in Spain for several years was Mahmoud Suleiman.