Was the missing Malaysia Airlines flight the victim of a terror attack? That is the question being considered by officials as they investigate the identities of four mystery passengers on flight MH370.
A source in Beijing has told the Sunday Times that suspicions of a terrorist attack are growing among Chinese government and police officials.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Malaysian authorities are liasing with the FBI over four suspect passengers, who all bought their flight tickets through China Southern Airlines, according to a security official.
Last week in China, 33 people were killed and 143 injured in a terrorist attack in the south-western city of Kunming. The attack was blamed on pro-separatist ethnic Uigurs, who come from the mainly Muslim areas of the Xinjiang region that borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former head of counter-terrorism for the Joint Intelligence Committee and chairman of Cobra, says that incident could be connected to the missing airliner. "The possibility of this being a terror attack has to be seriously considered," he says.
However, the Independent On Sunday points out possible similarities between this incident and the fate suffered by an Air France Airbus flight in 2009, which suffered a high-altitude stall after the flight crew reacted incorrectly to a loss of air-speed indication.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The group is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
