Fri, Nov 18, 2005
Dismantled Gun Found In Carry-On Bags, Child's Toy?
Four Australian woman
and a young boy were detained Thursday in Syria -- not a good place
for that to happen -- after a dismantled gun was found inside their
carry-on items and baggage. The group was attempting to board a
Gulf Air flight in Damascus bound for Australia, with a stopover in
Bahrain.
"I understand that the pieces of weapon were in hand luggage,
but there were bullets in the [baggage] hold," said Gulf Air
spokesman David Baker to the AAP news service. "Gulf Air security
and the Syrian authorities' security pulled up the group and they
were stopped from boarding the plane."
"It was just normal security processes carried out by the Syrian
authorities," Baker added.
No names have been released in the incident, although it was
confirmed the boy is the son of one of the women. All five were
carrying Australian passports, and one source claims parts of the
gun were found in a toy the child was carrying onboard the
aircraft.
While the intentions of
the women weren't immediately known, Syrian officials believe they
may have intercepted a terrorist attempt -- something neither Gulf
Air nor Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer were ready to
speculate on.
"All I know is that they were detained in Syria and were
believed to have in their possession a disassembled gun, so they
have been detained," Mr. Downer said. "We don't have an embassy in
Damascus. The Canadians represent our consular interests there so
they're trying to get in touch with the women and find out
precisely what's happened."
The aircraft, after being thoroughly searched by officials, was
allowed to leave Damascus approximately three hours later.
More News
Aero Linx: International Business Aviation Council Ltd IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of the industry and all regions of the world. As a non->[...]
"During the annual inspection of the B-24 “Diamond Lil” this off-season, we made the determination that 'Lil' needs some new feathers. Due to weathering, the cloth-cove>[...]
Also: Bushcat Woes, Hummingbird 300 SL 4-Seat Heli Kit, Carbon Cub UL The newest Junkers is a faithful recreation that mates a 7-cylinder Verner radial engine to the airframe offer>[...]
Also: Seaplane Pilots Association, Rotax 916’s First Year, Gene Conrad After a decade and a half of struggling with the FAA and other aero-politics, G100UL is in production a>[...]
Also: Martha King Scholarship, Montaer Grows, Textron Updates Pistons, FlySto The FAA is hiring thousands of air traffic controllers, but the window to apply will only be open for >[...]