Terrorists DID hijack MH370, French prosecutors fear as they launch fresh probe



A plane wing washed up on Reunion island has been confirmed as from MH370s

TERRORISTS hijacked the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight, French authorities are increasingly fearing.

 

Deputy public prosecutor, Serge Mackowiak told a press conference in Paris the possibility of terrorism is being "actively investigated" in the world's biggest aviation mystery.

His comments come a day after the first piece of evidence from the Boeing 777 was confirmed after a 'flaperon' wing part was washed up on a beach on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion a week ago - 16 months after MH370 disappeared.

MH370 vanished without a trace on March 8 last year as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.

The discovery has prompted a new investigation into the possible causes of its disappearance, with several theories being resurrected, but the French prosecutor said investigators will again be concentrating on the possibility of a terrorist attack.



Serge Mackowiak, France's deputy public prosecutor, said they are looking into terrorism claims

Several suspects were immediately questioned by Malaysia's counter-terrorist force about a possible hijacking but nobody has been arrested in connection with the plane's disappearance.

In the past two months Malaysian authorities have arrested more than 100 alleged supporters of Islamic State (ISIS).

Malaysia's main religion has grown over the years to become Suuni Islam although it remains an officially secular country and openly welcomes other faiths.

Last month Kuala Lumpur's US embassy issued a warning to American expats about a heightened risk of terrorist attacks, saying the Jemaah Islamiyah group had been linked to Al Qaeda, and warned about attacks by the Abu Sayyaf group.

The British Foreign Office carries a warning of "a general threat from terrorism" facing British travellers to Malaysia, saying attacks could be "indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers".

 

Today's revelation by the French prosecutor opens up the question of a terrorist attack on MH370 yet again, despite terrorist groups normally being quick to claim responsibility for plane hijackings.

Since 2011 there have been six attempted hijackings globally, with only one carried out by a recognised terrorist group.

The hijacking in China in 2012 was thwarted after six Uyghur separatists were overpowered and the plane was landed safely.

Another three were carried out by 'lone wolf' individuals and two were carried out by co-pilots who locked the captain out of the cabin, including Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz in March this year who killed all 150 people on his Airbus A320 by crashing it into the Alps.

Last year a first officer on an Ethiopian Airlines 767 from Addis Ababa diverted the plane from Rome to Geneva in an attempt to seek asylum.

The mental states and behaviour of MH370's Captain Zaharie Shah and first officer Fariq Hamid have been carefully studied but experts have found nothing unusual.

Everything from their finances to their behaviour on the night of the doomed flight has been deemed normal.

Another terrorist theory, held by American science writer Jeff Wise, is the sole Russian and two Ukrainian passengers onboard MH370 hijacked the aircraft on the Kremlin's orders and flew it to Kazakhstan - but this has been widely ridiculed.