Published : 04 Oct 2026, 10:38 AM
Updated : 04 Oct 2026, 11:25 AM
A pro-Al Qaeda publication has called for copycat attacks targeting Americans and Israelis on planes, while referencing last week's cockpit assault aboard a Flydubai flight and the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.
The warning appeared in the latest edition of al-Bayan, a weekly Arabic-language publication launched in July by pro-Al Qaeda supporters, India Today reports.
It referred to the Sept 30 attempted takeover of Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv and called for attacks on planes carrying Americans, Israelis and others it described as fighting Islam.
The publication accompanied the message with an image of a plane crashing into the Twin Towers in New York during the 9/11 attacks, alongside another image referencing the Flydubai incident.
“The war isn't over yet – planes carrying Zionists, Americans and all the other infidels fighting against Islam are still hovering in the skies and could be targeted, as happened on September 11th and 30th,” the article said.
The article also warned that the US and Israel had more enemies than before and said the “empire of evil America” would eventually end, according to The New York Post.
Its Telegram channels appeared to circulate the article on Saturday before it was apparently taken down.
The development came as investigators examine the background and possible extremist links of Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, who is in UAE custody.
His social media accounts are also being scrutinised after material linked to them featured references to several Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said al-Hammami underwent Islamist radicalisation and intended to crash the plane with its passengers. Israeli officials have also said he had been exposed to extremist ideology, the report said.
What an Anti-Terrorism Expert Says
Anti-terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann initially believed Al Qaeda was seeking to capitalise on the Flydubai attack. But material subsequently appearing on social media accounts linked to al-Hammami raised what Kohlmann described as a significant new question.
“If this is accurate, then he probably isn't an ISIS supporter,” Kohlmann told The New York Post, pointing instead to a reference to Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, an Al Qaeda supporter who carried out a 2009 suicide bombing in Afghanistan.
A series of posts appeared on LinkedIn and Instagram accounts bearing al-Hammami's name before the accounts were deleted. It remains unclear who published the material or whether the posts had been scheduled in advance, CNN reported.
One post featured cockpit video clips, including footage that appeared to zoom in on a nearby Israeli aircraft, before ending with an image of al-Zawahiri, the former Al Qaeda chief who succeeded bin Laden and was killed in a US drone strike in 2022.
The material also contained a reference to al-Balawi that drew Kohlmann's attention.
Kohlmann described al-Balawi as a largely self-radicalised Al Qaeda supporter who built a reputation on jihadist internet forums before establishing direct ties with the group after becoming an intelligence asset for Jordan and, ultimately, the CIA.
Kohlmann said the reference was striking partly because al-Hammami, like al-Balawi, came from a professional aviation background.
“It was a shock to everyone” that someone from such a professional background could carry out a suicide attack for Al Qaeda, he said of al-Balawi, according to the Post.
Who is Hamam al-Hammami?
Al-Hammami has been identified as the Omani co-pilot of Flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Sept 30.
He attacked Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, apparently seeking to crash it.
Passengers and crew intervened after Machchhar, despite being injured, managed to open the cockpit door from inside. The aircraft eventually landed safely in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk.
Al-Hammami had previously worked for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc before joining Flydubai around eight months ago.
He had reportedly come under scrutiny at Oman Air over alleged extremist views and was removed from flying duties before being assigned an administrative role.
Those claims have not been publicly substantiated by Oman Air or Omani authorities.
The incident has raised questions over how al-Hammami came to operate an Israel-bound flight despite the earlier concerns reportedly raised during his career.
His previous employment, recruitment by Flydubai and the extremist material linked to his accounts are now being examined as part of the investigation.
The UAE has officially characterised the incident as a terrorist attack.
Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said investigators were continuing to establish the full circumstances, motive and possible links.
