Turkey: Police storm plane, rescue hostages

A passenger claiming to have a bomb held two flight attendants hostage aboard a plane Friday at Istanbul airport before police stormed the aircraft and freed them.

Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said no one was injured. The hostage-taker, a Turkish citizen identified by police as Ali Ilker Urbak, was being questioned by anti-terrorism police.

The 28-year-old man held what he claimed were dynamite sticks as he seized the flight attendants after the Turkish Airlines aircraft from Ankara landed. The other passengers had already left the aircraft.

After about two hours police stormed the aircraft. The sticks turned out to be candles.

The man’s motives were unclear.