FBI releases age-processed pictures of four 1986 Pan Am hijacking suspects

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released age-processed photos of four alleged suspects in the 1986 Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking in Karachi, in which at least 20 people were killed and around 150 injured.

“The FBI is hoping to generate new leads with the release of new age-progressed images of four alleged hijackers involved in a 1986 attack in Pakistan that killed two Americans,” a statement by the agency said.

Five attackers hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 during a stopover in Karachi on September 5, 1986. A subsequent military operation resulted in the capture of the terrorists and deaths of at least passengers and crew. 

The suspects — Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Masud al-Safarini, Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, Muhammad Abdullah Khalil Hussain ar-Rahayyal, and Muhammad Ahmed al-Munawar — are believed to have been members of the Palestinian Abu Nidal Organization, which was designated a terrorist organisation by the US Department of State. 

They wanted to use the high-jacking to release their comrades imprisoned in Israel and other countries.  

Each of the men is on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the statement added.

“It’s always been an active case of ours,” said the lead FBI agent on the case. He said images of the suspects obtained by the FBI in the year 2000 were age-progressed by the FBI laboratory. 

“We’re hoping that with the age-progression photos next to the original photos maybe that will jar some memories or maybe someone has seen these guys walking around.”

The aircraft, with around 350 passengers and 14 flight attendants onboard, had arrived from Sahar International Airport in Mumbai, and was preparing to depart Jinnah International Airport in Karachi for Frankfurt airport, ultimately continuing on to John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, before it was highjacked. 

The 17-hour-long hijacking came to an end when the hijackers opened fire on the passengers at 9:30pm, prompting action from Pakistan's SSG commando unit.

Passengers aboard the plane included nationals of Algeria, Canada, France, India, Pakistan and United States.

All the hijackers were convicted in Pakistan and sentenced to death in 1988, before having their sentences reduced to life imprisonment. 

Authorities in Pakistan had released the leader of the hijackers, Zayd al-Safarini, in 2001, who was shortly arrested by the US in Bangkok on his way to Jordan. He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to 160 years in a US prison.

The remaining four were released in 2008 and deported to Palestinian territories, according to news reports.