Editor’s note: This post has been updated. See below.
“He’s not a terrorist, he’s an idiot." – actual statement from Egypt foreign ministry. #EgyptAir
— Jeff Semple (@JeffSempleGN) March 29, 2016
Egypt Air flight MS1818 was hijacked on the way from Alexandria to Cairo last night by an Egyptian man allegedly wearing a suicide belt. The plane is now in Cyprus where the hijacker has reportedly released most of the passengers and the crew:
#EgyptAir plane hijack latest: https://t.co/zRu91AhHqj
– "No demands from hijacker made"
– 7 hostages on board, including 3 passengers— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 29, 2016
VIDEO: #Passengers leaving #EgyptAirHijack plane. https://t.co/XQ3W0XhkyT pic.twitter.com/PyPd45aPlR
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 29, 2016
#EgyptAir flight MS181 hijacked; All you need to know pic.twitter.com/LcRoSqpX5B
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 29, 2016
Negotiations with the Hijacker result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners.
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016
#EgyptAir Hijacker is Seif Deen Mustafa, History teacher in Cairo … https://t.co/hkhW5lV6hv
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) March 29, 2016
Egypt Air claims the hijacker isn’t a terrorist, but a love-struck idiot of some sort searching for an ex-wife:
https://twitter.com/7DAYSUAE/status/714753158791168001
"He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot." #EgyptAir pic.twitter.com/PwUxXXjY4Y
— Bianca Britton (@biancabritton) March 29, 2016
#EgyptAir aircraft hijacked by
‘love sick’ professor demanding
to see Cypriot ex-wifehttps://t.co/i3UD0QTiO1— Kipkemoi Gilbert (@Rono_254) March 29, 2016
An “idiot” who outsmarted Egypt’s crack airport security, however:
Hijacker is not an idiot, he outsmarted security, enjoys the attention of the world media, still controls the plane hours later. #EgyptAir
— Ahmad Salkida (@A_Salkida) March 29, 2016
Months after the #SinaiCrash, this will raise serious questions regarding the level of security at Egyptian airports…
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) March 29, 2016
No word yet if any Americans are among the 3 hostages still on the plane:
State Dept. on #EgyptAir: Closely monitoring situation and engaged with local authorities. Looking into whether U.S. citizens are involved.
— ABC News (@ABC) March 29, 2016
Earlier, the Egyptian government released the wrong name of the hijacker:
Ibrahim Samaha, identified by #Egypt state TV as the hijacker, was apparently one of the hostages.
— Leila Fadel (@LeilaFadel) March 29, 2016
And the latest is the hijacker is making new demands:
Reports hijacker of #EgyptAir plane now asking for release of female prisoners in Egypt, the Cyprus state broadcaster reported says @Reuters
— Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill) March 29, 2016
Any bets on how long the love-struck idiot description holds up?
Update 8:28 a.m.:
#EgyptAir hijacker had no explosives but plane will be searched, Cyprus minister says https://t.co/mPIIF45j1l pic.twitter.com/AD42nTMmCm
— Bloomberg (@business) March 29, 2016
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