Four Palestinians Deported; Leader Serving Three Life Terms

Despite the best efforts of the US Congress to provide incentives to Pakistan to crack down on terrorists, on Thursday authorities there freed four Palestinians convicted in the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi that killed 22 passengers and crew.

An official who requested anonymity told The Associated Press the men -- identified as Mohammed Abdul Khalil Hussain, Daud Mohammed Hafiz, Mohammed Ahmed al-Munawar and Jamal Saeed -- were released after completing their jail terms, and deported to the Palestinian territories.

The four stormed the Boeing 747 on September 5, 1986 as it sat at Karachi airport waiting to fly to Frankfurt, Germany. Brandishing assault rifles, pistols, grenades and plastic explosive belts, the hijackers demanded the release of 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and Cyprus.

The standoff ended when Pakistani commandos stormed the plane. Court records state 22 people were killed, and more than 100 wounded by the hijackers using gunfire and grenades.

Their alleged leader, a Palestinian named Zayd Hassan Abd Al-Latif Masud Al Safarini, was intercepted by US authorities in 2001, and is serving three consecutive life terms plus 25 years in prison.

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_73