Hijacking of plane from Caucasus foiled in Moscow
Posted: 30 July 2010 0259 hrs

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MOSCOW: Russian special forces posing as doctors foiled a hijacking at Moscow's Domodedovo airport on Thursday by a man demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies reported.

A flight from Mineralnye Vody in the Caucasus to Moscow was held for two hours on the tarmac by a 40-year-old passenger who "made orders to crew", an airport spokeswoman was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti.

The hijacker, who was of Ingushetian origin, demanded a meeting with Putin to discuss the situation in the restive republic of Chechnya, news website Gazeta.ru.

According to Interfax, the hijacker - identified as Magomet Bakyev - did not have weapons or explosives.

The breakthrough came when a passenger complained of feeling sick and Bakyev agreed to allow doctors to come on board. Special forces posing as doctors then took control of the plane, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"All of the passengers were freed, there were no victims," a spokesman for the transport police was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass.

There were 105 people on the flight, including seven crew members.

The Russian Caucasus - which includes Ingushetia and Chechnyna - remain unstable after Moscow fought two bloody wars against Chechen separatists in the 1990s. Attacks by militants from the region are frequent.

- AFP/de