Disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Work of Terrorists? 11 Linked to Al Qaeda Probed; Lithium Batteries Part of Cargo Contents?
The Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 has been missing for more than 56 days. The mystery that has led to several absurd conspiracy theories continues to deepen.
According to the latest update, terrorists' links were suspected in the disappearance of the missing Boeing 777. Eleven terrorists related to al Qaeda were arrested for probing, according to Daily Mail. Also, reports related to the cargo being carried by the missing plane have raised questions.
Reports claimed a group of 11 terrorists were arrested in the state of Kedah in Kuala Lumpur and were taken for interrogation. It was initiated when Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Military Intelligence, Section 6 (MI6) demanded these terrorists, suspected to be involved in the planning of terror attacks in Muslim countries, be interrogated.
An officer from Counter Terrorism Division of Malaysian Special Branch expressed his concern about the involvement of terrorists in one of the biggest mysteries of aviation industry.
"The possibility that the plane was diverted by militants is still high on the list and international investigators have asked for a comprehensive report on this new terror group," the officer said as reported by Daily Mail.
The 11 suspected terrorists involved men aged between 22 and 55. Their professions ranged from student to odd-job workers and business professionals. The group was ordered to be interrogated "intensively" about MH370's disappearance, which included a young widow.
Even though some of them have agreed to be involved in "sustained terror campaigns" in Malaysia, they have denied their participation in the MH370 incident.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian police top officer denied the reports claiming the involvement of these 11 terrorists in mysterious disappearance of MH370.
"There is absolutely no connection between the arrests and the MH370," told the inspector general of Police Khalid Bakar.
Cargo contents of MH370 have raised questions and deepened the mystery. The report noted the aircraft was carrying some items which were "not specified on the manifest." It was loaded with 4.566 tons of mangosteen, an exotic fruit. Also, 200 kg of lithium ion batteries were being transported as a part of separate shipment weighing 2.453 tons.
Speaking to The Star, the officer told he cannot reveal the details due to the "ongoing investigation." The legal advisors suggested them not to talk about them. Malaysia Airlines later declared the remaining cargoes included radio accessories and chargers.
The missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board. The plane was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and thought to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. No traces so far of the missing aircraft have been discovered even after continuous international search efforts.
According to Mirror UK, some of the other theories explaining disappearance of MH370 were equipment failure, pilot suicide mission, hijack and the latest being unaccounted cargo contents.