Turkish plane hijacker trained by al Qaeda-reports

ISTANBUL, Aug 20 (Reuters) One of two men who hijacked a plane heading for Istanbul from northern Cyprus was trained in camps run by al Qaeda militants and planned to flee to Afghanistan, Turkish media reports said today.

The two hijackers surrendered and released their hostages after forcing the Atlas Jet plane to land in southern Turkey on Saturday with the threat of a ''bomb'' which turned out to be modelling clay with wires attached.

Officials said the pair had demanded to be taken to Tehran.

Broadcaster CNN Turk said on its Web site the two had met in northern Cyprus a year ago and their ultimate goal was to reach Afghanistan and join al Qaeda.

It quoted police officials in the southern city of Antalya as saying one of the hijackers was Turkish and the other an Egyptian born in Cairo in 1974, who had received training in al Qaeda camps. It did not specify where the camps were.

Newspapers carried similar reports.

Previous reports have said one of the hijackers was a Syrian passport-holder, thought to be Palestinian.

The plane was hijacked as it brought 136 passengers from northern Cyprus -- a destination popular with Turkish and foreign tourists -- to Istanbul.

One of the hijackers had tried to force the cockpit door open 15 minutes after take-off and told passengers he was a member of al Qaeda.

Most passengers were quickly released or escaped through emergency exits but six crew and passengers were held hostage until the hijackers surrendered about five hours after forcing the plane to land.

Hijackings are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left militants operate, and several incidents in the last year or so have ended without casualties.

REUTERS SW MSJ DS1253