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Cuba 'thwarts air hijack attempt' Cuba thwarts attempted hijacking
(about 2 hours later)
A Cuban military officer has died after being taken hostage in an attempted hijacking at Havana airport, the interior ministry has said.A Cuban military officer has died after being taken hostage in an attempted hijacking at Havana airport, the interior ministry has said.
The officer was killed by two army deserters who had commandeered a bus carrying passengers, officials said. The officer was killed by two army deserters who had boarded a plane, officials said.
The two suspects were arrested at the airport, the officials said. The operation to end the attempted hijacking reportedly involved a fierce gun battle.
People living close to the airport say they heard sustained gunfire in the early hours of the morning, close to the terminal used for flights to Miami. The two deserters were among three conscripts who escaped from their barracks. All three are now in custody.
The BBC's Stephen Gibbs, in Havana, says the men are understood to have been captured before they managed to get through the airport's main perimeter fence. According to a statement from the Cuban government, early on Thursday morning two Cuban army recruits commandeered a local bus, seizing several hostages.
One report says they were intending to board a Boeing 737. They drove the bus to Havana's main airport and managed to board a empty plane.
Young recruits The Cuban government says that inside the plane the hijackers killed one of their hostages, an unarmed lieutenant colonel in the Cuban army.
The plane had recently landed at the airport on a domestic flight and had a full crew on board, but no passengers. In the operation to end the attempted hijacking, which according to local residents involved a fierce gun battle, none of the other hostages were apparently harmed.
The men are all believed to be young recruits from a military base just south of the capital, who abandoned their guard posts on Saturday, taking automatic weapons with them. Breakout
Over the weekend, police distributed leaflets with descriptions of the soldiers, describing them as armed and dangerous. The two hijackers were part of a group of three conscripts who deserted their base on Saturday, having stolen automatic weapons.
This was the first reported hijacking attempt in Cuba since 2003. The Cuban government says that during the breakout an army watchman was killed by the escaping soldiers.
In March of that year two planes were seized in separate incidents, one of which was flown to Key West in Florida with 31 people on board. The two hijackers have been taken into custody.
The third soldier was captured earlier in the week.
This is the first reported hijacking attempt in Cuba since 2003.
In March that year, two planes were seized in separate incidents, one of which was flown with 31 people on board to Key West in Florida.
The following month, three men hijacked a small ferry boat in Havana in an attempt to cross the Florida Straits.The following month, three men hijacked a small ferry boat in Havana in an attempt to cross the Florida Straits.
They were captured, tried and executed by firing squad in a matter of days.They were captured, tried and executed by firing squad in a matter of days.
Cuba says that the US policy of giving near automatic asylum to Cubans is a incitement to those who resort to extreme means to leave Cuba.
The American government says it does not offer asylum to hijackers.