JANUARY 2, 2020
An American Airlines Boeing 767-300 aircraft takes off from Zurich Airport January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
The United States has warned its air carriers to avoid Pakistani airspace citing the probable threat of attacks on its airlines.
In a statement, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that the commercial and the state carriers could be a target of Pakistani extremist and militant groups.
The commercial and state carriers are “advised to exercise caution when flying into, out of, within, or over the territory and airspace of Pakistan due to extremist or militant activities” in the country.
United States warns its air carriers to avoid Pakistan airspace, it may be a risk & possible threat of attacks on US airlines (commercial&US state carrier) by Pakistan extremist & militant groups. pic.twitter.com/2lxcbljbPK
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2020
The development has come two days after several thousand protesters attacked the United States embassy in Baghdad in retaliation to the US airstrikes that killed more than two dozen pro-Iran fighters.
A stream of men in military fatigues, as well as some women, marched through checkpoints that usually restrict access to Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone.
They waved flags in support of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of armed groups which has been largely incorporated into the security forces.
On Sunday, at least 25 fighters from a hardline Hashed faction known as Kataeb Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) were killed in US airstrikes on a base in western Iraq.
The strikes were in response to escalating rocket attacks on Iraqi bases where the United States’ forces are deployed.
After the protesters stormed the US embassy, the US security forces inside the compound of the building fired tear gas and flash bangs to disperse the crowds, which had ignored calls over megaphones to back away from the embassy.
Courtesy/Source: India Today
