JORDAN: DETAILS ON RJ BOMB THREAT

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 007388 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2007 TAGS: EAIR ASEC PTER JO SUBJECT: JORDAN: DETAILS ON RJ BOMB THREAT Classified By: A/DCM TOM YOUNG. REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Civil Aviation Authority Director General Hanna Najjar and Royal Jordanian Airlines Executive VP Ghassan Ali provided the following details on the bomb threat against a Royal Jordanian Airlines Airbus A-340 flight 602 from Amman to Abu Dhabi the early morning of December 22. -- At about 3:40 a.m., 10-15 minutes before scheduled landing in Abu Dhabi, a passenger seated toward the front of the airplane claimed he had a bomb. He was immediately subdued and handcuffed by sky marshals on board. -- Immediately thereafter, another passenger closer to the back of the airplane stood up and made the same claim. He was also immediately subdued and handcuffed by the sky marshals. The plane landed safely in Abu Dhabi at 3:40 a.m. -- The aircraft landed in Abu Dhabi and the two were taken off. They were identified as "Muhammad Ali Hussein" and "Abdul Nasser Farraj." They were identified as Libyan nationals and taken into custody by Abu Dhabi authorities. Both had boarded in Amman as transit passengers originating in Tripoli, Libya (Tripoli-Amman-Abu Dhabi). -- The Abu Dhabi authorities searched the plane and luggage thoroughly and found nothing suspicious. The plane was allowed to return to Amman via Dubai according to its original flight plan, leaving Abu Dhabi at 8:30 a.m. (Contrary to some press reports, Amman's Queen Alia Airport was not closed by the torrential rains and snow flurries of the past two days.) ¶2. (C) Jordanian security and intelligence services are investigating. Najjar said he had urged them to consider the possibility that the event was a "test" of Jordanian procedures and responses. He was pleased by the performance of the sky marshals. GNEHM