Posted on 11/07/2003 3:19:59 PM PST by blam
Two killed in Philippines airport drama
Officials have confirmed that two men who tried to seize the air traffic control tower at Manila airport have been killed in a shoot-out with security officers.
Former air transport office chief Panfilo Villaruel and Ricardo Gatchalian were killed in the incident, Edgardo Manda, general manager of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport said.
"Our special operations unit has neutralised the situation," he said.
Officers tried to persuade Villaruel to surrender after he occupied the control tower office but negotiations failed.
It is believed the victims were carrying handguns.
National security adviser Roilo Golez said Villaruel took over a highly sensitive installation that required immediate police action.
He said Villaruel's action could have paralysed air traffic and affected national security and the economy.
The police treated Villaruel and his companion as a "hostile group, armed and dangerous" and were assaulted by a special operations unit of the police aviation security group, Golez said.
Manda said the pair entered the control tower shortly before midnight local time and ordered air controllers to leave.
He said Villaruel and Gatchalian had been at the airport for several days doing "research". He did not elaborate but said Villaruel made "very incoherent" statements.
Airport authorities decided about three hours later to take action to prevent disruption of airport operations, Manda said.
Story filed: 22:05 Friday 7th November 2003
I'll bet on the latter.
WorldNetDaily.com: "MIDEAST-LOOKING MEN STEAL AIRPORT COMPUTERS Australia Fears Terrorists Might Have Gained Access to Intelligence" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Two men described as being of Middle-Eastern appearance walked out of the intelligence center at Sydney International Airport with two computers, prompting fears Australia's security has been breached by terrorists. The men, dressed as computer technicians, presented themselves to the security desk Aug. 27 as employees of a company that regularly provides service to the airport's cargo processing and intelligence center, according to The Age newspaper of Melbourne, Australia. The men were given access to the top-security mainframe room after supplying false names and signatures, and they seemed to know where to go, the paper said. Two hours later, the computers had been disconnected, put on trolleys and wheeled past the security desk into the elevator. Australia's top security agencies are conducting emergency damage audits to assess the impact of the breech.") (September 5, 2003) (Read More...)
AFTENPOSTEN.no (English) - News from Norway: "ASYLUM SEEKER THREATENS MINISTER" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "An Iraqi asylum seeker was in police custody Friday after he allegedly made two death threats against cabinet minister Erna Solberg. He was angry because his application for asylum had been rejected. Police were seeking to keep the man, in his 30s, in custody for at least four weeks. He's charged with acting violently towards police, and threatening both the police and Solberg, who is the government minister ultimately in charge of immigration issues. "We consider him dangerous," prosecutor Jannicke Floeystad told wire service NTB.") (September 19, 2003) (Read More...)
TELEGRAPH.co.uk: "ARAB 'TRIED TO OPEN JET DOOR AT 30,000 FT" by Chris Boffey (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "An Arab who allegedly tried to open the door of an Airbus A321 carrying 105 passengers and crew as it flew at 30,000ft over the North Sea has been charged with endangering an aircraft. Brahim Sbaoui, 33, was held by cabin crew after the pilot alerted them to alleged tampering with a rear door.") (September 20, 2003) (Read More...)
WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "FBI WARNS OF AL QAEDA PLOT TO FLY JETLINER INTO BUILDING" by David Bamber, London Sunday Telegraph (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "An FBI spokesman said information about potential attacks had also identified Italy, Australia and the United States as ground targets.") (August 24, 2003) (Read More...)
"Officials have confirmed that two men who tried to seize the air traffic control tower at Manila airport have been killed in a shoot-out with security officers."
Bother to read the article, or other articles on the story, and it's pretty obviously the former.
"National security adviser Roilo Golez said Villaruel took over a highly sensitive installation that required immediate police action. He said Villaruel's action could have paralysed air traffic and affected national security and the economy."
Blam:
UBL, Islamic Extremists, and various jihadi discussion forums have mentioned from time to time about their total hate for America's capitalism. Read the snippet in this post here. Food for thought.
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