Women Arrested in Suspected Hijack Plot

(Damascas, Syria) Reporting on this story is choppy. It seems no two sources agree.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Four Australian women have been detained while trying to board a plane in Syria, reportedly after gun parts were found inside a child's toy.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said two women from Victoria and two from NSW were with two Iraqi women when they were detained at Damascus airport on Tuesday.

All six were of Iraqi origin, the department said.

A DFAT spokesman would not confirm media reports that the group was detained after a disassembled gun was found inside a toy being carried by a child with the women.

Syrian authorities are investigating whether the women might have been involved in a plot to hijack the plane between Damascus and Bahrain, where the plane was due to stop over, or between Bahrain and the final destination in Australia.

From ADKNI.com:

Seven Iraqi women have been arrested in Syria after trying to board a plane with a gun, a Bahraini diplomatic source has told the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA. The Gulf Air plane to the Bahraini capital, Manama, eventually took off late from Damascus International Airport. The gun was hidden inside a toy in the bag of one of the women.

Initial investigations indicate that a man had been expected to accompany them but did not show up for the flight. All seven women and the man had Australian passports. Earlier on Tuesday there were reports that a man had tried to board a plane with a concealed gun.

For some reason, Syrian officials have not revealed much which would explain the apparent conflict in reporting.