As the UAE continues to interrogate Hamam Al-Hammami, the co-pilot of the flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, reports hint that the 29-year-old has confessed to his plot to crash the plane inside Israeli territory.
According to a report that appeared in the Hebrew media Israel Hayom, during questioning, al-Hammami admitted that he intended to crash the aircraft into a ground target in Israel. Investigators from several intelligence agencies believe such an operation would require planning and logistical support, and the co-pilot could have had outside assistance from a possible terrorist organisation.
An Israeli investigative team has joined the investigation in the UAE to obtain a complete picture of the case, the report added.
The UAE has stated that the investigation revealed Al-Hammami, an Omani citizen born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and a Syrian mother, attacked the Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, with an emergency axe and tried to take control of the flight systems.
The report by Israel Hayom also claimed that sources familiar with the investigation revealed that the authorities are examining a possible Iranian connection through a Syrian terrorist group established by Iran during the Assad regime. The group may still be active in the country, and al-Hammami may have been indoctrinated by them.
Al-Hammami, whose mother is Syrian, spent several years in the country where the terrorist group could have recruited him. Saudi Al-Arabiya network also reported that Al-Hammami was radicalised during his stay in Syria. "He spent most of his time outside Oman, especially in Syria," the Saudi network reported.
Only a detailed probe could reveal whether the group recruited al-Hammami specifically to carry out an attack using an aircraft, similar to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the US.
Investigators have also found that al-Hammami held an extremist Islamist ideology and had made little effort to conceal it. He publicly avoided the company of women, speaking with them or making physical contact, including shaking hands. He also posted pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas and anti-Israel material on social media, as well as content supporting suicide attacks.
