On October 13, French authorities reported that Lufthansa Flight LH 181 has been hijacked while en route from the Balearic Islands to Germany. The Boeing 737, with five crew and 86 passengers had changed course on the orders of an individual identifying himself as "Captain Mahmoud" and was heading to Rome. The plane later landed in Rome, refueled, and flew on to Cyprus where Mahmoud demanded the plane be refueled again. Authorities in Rome permitted the refueling after threats from the terrorists that the aircraft would be blown up. By this time, word had spread about the hijacking and many governments had resolved not allow Flight LH 181 to land on their soil. Such was the case in Beirut and Bahrain where, in the case of Beirut, the runways were physically blocked with equipment to prevent an unauthorized landing. The pilot finally put down in Dubai despite government landing denials. It was here that a significant event transpired. The crew was able to communicate to ground officials that there were four terrorists on board. The strain on passengers and terrorists alike began to take its toll, and later that day, Mahmoud killed the first pilot. Additionally, he postponed his original 4:00PM deadline to 2:45AM the next day after accepting a promise from the West German Minister of State, who has been playing the role of chief negotiator. After making this announcement, he ordered the plane flown to Mogadishu, Somalia where it arrived on October 17.

OK Lads, we have a new toy for you to try out with GSG-9. Its called a Flashbang - it stuns anybody near it with a big bang and a bright flash of light that disorients the "reciever". I suggest your team use this for EMOE when freeing the hostages.