A team of FBI agents has arrived in Somalia to help authorities in the East African nation investigate what caused an explosion this week inside a plane at 11,000 feet. Authorities from Somalia, the United States and other countries believe that a bomb was detonated in mid-air, just after the Hermes Airlines flight departed Mogadishu’s airport for Djibouti, according to sources familiar with the incident.
The A-321 jetliner executed an emergency landing and returned to the airport, but two passengers were hurt, and it’s believed one person may have been sucked out of the plane through a relatively small hole left by the explosion.
It is still unclear how a bomb would have been brought on-board or who could be responsible, but authorities are looking into whether the al Qaeda-linked terrorist group al-Shabab, based in Somalia, or even ISIS may be behind it, sources said.
Many of the passengers on the flight were originally scheduled to be on a Turkish Airlines flight, but the flight was canceled “due to operational reasons” and bad weather, according to Turkish Airlines spokesman Yahya Ustun.
The U.S. government offered Somali authorities any assistance, and the team of FBI agents arrived at the scene Friday, sources said. They are there for one purpose: to help the Somalis with any expertise or other assistance they may need. |