A senior United Arab Emirates official on Friday publicly described the attempted crashing of a Flydubai passenger jet as a “terrorist act” for the first time, as Israel investigates if the Omani co-pilot accused of trying to bring down the aircraft was acting on behalf of another party.
\n\nThe Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the co-pilot had previously been banned by Oman from flying, over concerns that he had adopted radical ideological views, citing people familiar with the matter. Despite the ban, the Omani national was later hired by Flydubai and allowed to fly the sensitive route connecting the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
\n\nIt remains unclear if Oman shared its concerns about the co-pilot with other countries or airlines, and the nature of his reported radicalization could not be determined, according to the report. Flydubai and the Omani government did not respond to requests for comment.
\n\nA UAE spokesperson declined to address the co-pilot’s reported history in Oman, saying that doing so could “prejudge the outcome of the investigation or interfere with its course.”
\n\nThe report emerged as Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic adviser to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, publicly characterized Wednesday’s attack as terrorism while praising…
Original source: https://breitbart.com/
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