Interesting details have emerged from the personal LinkedIn account maintained by Omani Hamam Al-Hamami, the co-pilot of the FlyDubai flight headed for Tel Aviv last Wednesday, September 30, who is currently in custody and continues to be questioned by the relevant authorities in the United Arab Emirates.
What the suspect’s LinkedIn account “reveals”
Specifically, from his account—which had been deleted but was restored by LinkedIn so that investigators could complete their work— two video posts were identified; however, they were uploaded to the internet nine hours after the attack. As reported by CNN, investigators have not yet determined whether the perpetrator had planned to post the two videos at that specific time or whether another person had control of the account and decided to upload the two videos at that specific moment.
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SEE ALSO: FlyDubai co-pilot attacked the pilot with an emergency axe
In his first video, Al-Hamami zooms inin two planes belonging to the Israeli airlines El Al and Arkia at their usual parking spots at Dubai International Airport. The video was filmed from the cockpit of an aircraft operated by the Omani state-owned airline Oman Air and is dated “October 11, 2023,” that is, four days after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The fact that the video was filmed from the Omani plane confirms that, at that time, Al-Hamami was working for Oman Air, while additional details from the video confirm that on the day the footage was recorded, the airline was operating its scheduled flight from Dubai to the Omani capital, Muscat.
The first video concludes with a photograph of Al-Zawahiri, who had succeeded Osama bin Laden as leader of the Al-Qaeda organization. Next, the video shows a photograph of another prominent member of the organization, who had been placed in charge of an operation in Afghanistan, during which nine American CIA agents serving in the country were executed.
SEE ALSO: Flydubai Thriller Flight: Who Is the Pilot Who Attacked the Captain, and What Are His Extremist Views and Posts Linked to Al-Qaeda?
The second video posted on the account of the Omani perpetrator—the co-pilot—depicted the three holiest Muslim sites: Mecca, Medina, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The images were accompanied by text extolling the value of self-sacrifice in the defense and triumph of Islam.
Investigations Continue – Questions About Iran’s Involvement
Meanwhile, the investigations being conducted by Emirati prosecutors are continuing, and as reported by U.S. and Saudi media since this morning, Al-Hamami is responding to the investigators’ questions.
Of particular interest is a report by the Israeli news network i24news, citing well-informed local security sources, according to which, as of yesterday morning, October 2, a special team from the Israeli intelligence services has been in Dubai to participate in the investigative proceedings of the Emirati prosecutor’s office. Emirati government officials neither confirmed nor denied the report. However, tonight, Israeli intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to Israeli media, denied that a team of Israeli investigators is in the UAE, clarifying that “the UAE authorities have not made such a request to Israel.”
SEE ALSO: “He prayed constantly and refused to shake hands with women”: The profile of the co-pilot who tried to crash the flydubai plane
However, as is evident at least from media leaks regarding the progress of the investigation, no evidence has yet emerged that links the perpetrator—the co-pilot of FlyDubai flight FZ1073—to Iran or to armed groups affiliated with Tehran. This particular aspect is the focus of attention for Israeli security agencies, as well as for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, as he made clear in an interview he gave the day before yesterday, October 1, to the American network CBS.
A somber mood in Israel ahead of the October 7 anniversary
In Israel, the aftermath of the in-flight attack continues to dominate local news coverage, with passengers’ accounts taking center stage on news programs. At the same time, however, the mood in Israel is growing even more somber as the third anniversary of the October 7 attack approaches, with newspapers, radio and television stations airing special segments featuring the accounts and memories of citizens who experienced the events firsthand and managed to survive.
Watch Gabriel Charitou’s report, broadcast live from Jerusalem, on tonight’s main news broadcast on ALPHA Cyprus with Yiannis Xenof:
