The first officer of a plane bound for Israel was attacked with a weapon... ‘Lone wolf’ terrorism suspected

Presumed to be a “lone wolf”-style terrorist incident… Until the final result

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Song Jin-won = The U.S. NBC reported on the 5th (local time) that it is highly likely that the first officer who attacked the captain with a weapon and attempted to crash the plane on a Fly Dubai flight bound for Israel on the 30th of last month committed the crime alone.

Shalom Ben Hanan, a former official at Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, told NBC, "At this point, it is assessed that he acted alone. It appears to be a 'lone wolf' terrorist attack inspired by content he saw online."

He added, “We have to wait for the final investigation results to determine which organization or country is behind it.”

Several U.S. officials briefed on the investigation also noted that the investigation remains in its early stages.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities, who are leading the investigation, defined this incident as an attempted terrorist attack in a briefing on the 3rd and stated that the first officer attempted to take control of the plane's controls by attacking the captain with an emergency axe.

In relation to this, the U.S. ABC reported that the first officer admitted that he intended to intentionally crash the aircraft. The identity of the co-pilot was known as Hamm Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national.

UAE investigative authorities are investigating the specific circumstances, motive, and accomplices of this incident.

Israel and the United States do not rule out the possibility that an enemy country, such as Iran, was behind the co-pilot's actions.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on the 2nd that his own investigative authorities were investigating whether the co-pilot was instigated by anyone.

U.S. President Donald Trump also raised the possibility of Iranian intervention on the 1st and threatened to launch new airstrikes against Iran if it was behind the attack.

However, a senior U.S. official who was briefed on the status of the Israeli investigation previously told NBC News that there was no indication that Iran ordered or was involved in the attack.