Police Arrest Pro-Chechen Hijacker
Police arrested a pro-Chechen hijacker early today after he released all of the 109 hostages aboard a Turkish Cypriot airliner seized 12 hours earlier.
Initially, officials said four gunmen had commandeered the Boeing 727 after takeoff from northern Cyprus, but Munich airport spokesman Hans-Joachim Bues said it appears there was only one. The plane was headed for Istanbul.
Before surrendering, the hijacker had released six passengers and two crew members. The hostage drama ended quietly and without bloodshed when the hijacker allowed the rest of the 101 passengers and eight crew to leave the plane.
Police said they would discuss the motive and the nationality of the hijacker, as well as the discrepancy in the reporting of the number of gunmen, at a news conference later this morning.
They also expected to give the conditions of the freed crew and passengers, although there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The Boeing 727 landed at the Munich airport about 5 1/2 hours after it was commandeered shortly after taking off. It stopped first in Sofia, Bulgaria, but the hijacker demanded the pilot refuel and fly to Germany.
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