Iraq says hijackers were not diplomats .
BAGHDAD 1996-08-28
Iraq on Wednesday said the hijackers of a Sudanese airliner were not Iraqi diplomats and added that " noble Iraqis " would never contemplate such an action .
The official Iraqi News Agency ( INA ) quoted Iraq 's ambassador in Khartoum as saying that Iraq 's embassy in the Sudanese capital had nothing to do with the Monday night hijacking .
Iraq 's ambassador in Khartoum denounced the hijacking and described it as a terrorist act which had nothing to do " with the morals and values of noble Iraqis , " INA said .
Ambassador Abdulsamad Hameed Ali told INA there was only one diplomat among the 199 passengers and crew on the Sudan Airways Airbus .
" He was not involved ...
on the contrary he was harassed by the elements which carried out the hijacking , " he said .
INA did not say the hijackers were Iraqis .
The hijack started when the flight left Khartoum for Amman on Monday night .
The hijackers told the crew they had grenades and other explosives and threatened to blow up the plane if they were not taken to London .
The airliner refuelled at Larnaca , Cyprus and landed at London 's Stansted airport in the early hours of Tuesday .
Seven Iraqi suspected hijackers surrendered and British police said they had apparently asked for political asylum .
Several had brought their families along , including children .