Flight attendant was stabbed and shot to death

Paramedics said the woman flight attendant was knifed and shot to death and two men were gunned down.

‘‘As soon as the woman opened the door, she was both knifed and shot,’’ a paramedic said .

Minutes before the plane was stormed, more than 30 members of the Saudi army’s special forces unit in full battle gear, armed with semi-automatic rifles and wearing helmets and bullet proof vests, were loaded into an army bus.

About six ambulances and fire engines surrounded the plane, which was parked in an isolated area on the Tarmac while Medina airport remained open to commercial flights.

Two Saudi air force cargo planes were parked a few hundred yards away.

Other members of the special forces unit were huddled in tents in the services area of the airport, out of sight of the plane. Four army vehicles and four armoured personnel carriers were parked behind the tents.

A passenger was seen being carried away from the plane. His leg was strapped over his bloodied trousers.

The storming of the plane ended the hostage drama that began yesterday shortly after the plane took off from Istanbul.

Aftayeva Fariza, a representative of the breakaway Chechen Republic in Amman, Jordan, identified the hijackers as Aslambek Artsayev, the former Chechen interior minister, and his brother, Sufian.

She said the information comes from a third brother, Adam, who was not among the hijackers.

She said the reason for the hijacking was not terrorism or money, but to attract world attention to the situation in Chechnya.

Reports on the number of hijackers varied from two to four.

Saudi officials said they had earlier asked to fly to Afghanistan.

An official at Medina airport said the hijackers had earlier asked authorities to refuel the plane and prepare it for a long flight but later changed their minds.