Officials at the Egyptian airport from which the hijacked EgyptAir aircraft took off and was taken to Cyprus say the hijacker is a native of the Egyptian Mediterranean city of Alexandria and a dual Egyptian-American citizen. Egyptian officials have earlier identified the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, a veterinarian. The plane took off from Bourg el-Arab airport just outside Alexandria and was flying on a regular route to Cairo, the Egyptian capital, on Tuesday when the hijacking took place. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Cyprus' president says the EgyptAir hijacking incident is "not something which has to do with terrorism." Nicos Anastasiades says the government of Cyprus is doing its utmost so that all passengers on the EgyptAir flight that has been hijacked are safe. He spoke on the sidelines of a meeting Tuesday with the president of the European Parliament. Anastasiades says "we are doing our utmost in order for everyone to be released and safe and to give an end to this unprecedented (incident). In any case it is not something which has to do with terrorism."
