Jerusalem, Sep 30: Israeli security agencies were investigating an incident aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv after the aircraft transmitted an emergency signal and descended sharply before diverting to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news, citing an Israeli official, reported that Israeli authorities had not ruled out a possible “terrorist incident” and were examining whether one of the two pilots may have tried to crash the aircraft. It said one of the pilots was injured.

In a video circulated on social media, an Israeli passenger with blood on his face said, “We are under attack on the plane. We have overpowered the terrorists. We are about to land.”

Earlier, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking. An Israeli official said that the emergency signals were transmitted after the pilots became involved in a physical altercation.

A flydubai spokesperson confirmed that flight FZ 1073 operating from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport “experienced an incident” while en route. The aircraft later landed in Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia and all passengers are “safe and accounted for,” according to the spokesperson, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Israel Airports Authority said that they have opened a dedicated waiting and information area for the families of passengers on the Flydubai flight, in accordance with the directive of Minister of Transport, Miri Regev.

“The area is located in Terminal 1, in the domestic arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport. Family members wishing to come to Ben Gurion Airport are invited to proceed to the designated area in Terminal 1, where they will be able to wait and receive information and updates as developments unfold,” read the statement.

“Israel Airports Authority representatives will be present at the site and will assist family members as needed. We ask members of the public who are not relatives of passengers on the flight to refrain from coming to the area, in order to allow for the orderly and appropriate assistance of the families,” it added.

Washington/Baghdad, Sep 30: The United States and its allies have officially ended ‘Operation Inherent Resolve’ against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The Iraqi Security Forces, including the Peshmerga and other security forces in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, will “lead the continuing effort to secure Iraq and keep IS remnants suppressed,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

The primary responsibility for addressing Iraq’s remaining security challenges now rests with the Iraqi government, the statement said, adding that the United States will continue to provide “targeted training and intelligence support” to its Iraqi partners.

On the same day, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi also announced the conclusion of the international coalition’s mission to combat the IS in Iraq, Xinhua news agency reported. In 2014, the United States and its allies launched their campaign and deployed forces to fight the IS militants in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

In 2024, Washington and Baghdad agreed on a gradual pullout of US troops from Iraq, seven years after the Iraqi government declared the country’s full liberation from the IS militants at the end of 2017.

Last week, the Iraqi government said that it is in direct dialogue with the United States to secure sanctions exemptions for certain Iraqi airports to resume flights with Iran on humanitarian grounds.

The media office of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Saturday that the requested waivers aim to allow flights for medical treatment, education, religious visits, and civilian interests following recent US Department of the Treasury measures against Iranian airlines operating in the region.

The statement stressed that Iraq is actively working to de-escalate regional tensions, warned that prolonged crisis further complicate the situation, and called on all parties to resolve conflicts through dialogue.

The Iraqi government on Thursday officially signed an agreement to take over the US Embassy’s diplomatic support centre at Baghdad International Airport, according to an Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement.

The agreement was signed at the ministry headquarters by Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Hussein Bahr Al-Uloom and charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Iraq Steven Fagin.

The handover was part of the Iraqi government’s efforts to finalise procedures regarding the conclusion of the US-led international coalition and the foreign military presence in Iraq, in accordance with the timeline set for September 30 this year, it said.

In August, al-Zaidi said that September 30 remained the firm deadline for ending the US-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq and completing its troop withdrawal.

New York, Sep 29: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar says that the US’s lack of sensitivity to India’s concerns about terrorism emanating from Pakistan is a problem for Washington-New Delhi relations.

He did name Pakistan, but made it amply clear he was referring to it by ascribing the terrorism to “a neighbour” that uses it as a policy, and it was criticism directed at President Donald Trump for developing close relations with Pakistan, ignoring its role as a purveyor of terror.

“Perhaps there are very few countries which have been subjected to the kind of terrorism that we have from a neighbour as part of a deliberate conscious policy over many, many decades”, he said on Monday.

Therefore, the terrorism issue is “particularly important” for India, he said.

“Now, if something which matters so deeply to us, there isn’t enough understanding or appreciation or empathy of that, I think that creates a problem”, He said.

If “one of my primary concerns is not fully appreciated by my partner, then clearly there is a impact on that on the relationship”, he said.

He made these comments during an event in New York when he was asked about factors hindering better U.S. relations.

He said that besides trade, this insensitivity to terrorism was a factor.

Trump has entirely walked away from the issue of terrorism when it comes to Pakistan, in a change from the policies of the previous administrations.

Previously, the US recognised Islamabad’s role in backing global terrorism, which reached its height with the 2001 attacks by al-Qaida on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington.

Pakistan’s role as an accessory to the attacks was exposed when al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was found to be living under Pakistan’s protection.