2ND 12 held after jets escort US plane back to Schiphol

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Wednesday August 23, 2006

Amsterdam- Border police at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport arrested 12 passengers flying to Mumbai aboard a US airliner Wednesday, after Dutch fighters had earlier escorted the aircraft back to the airport. The 12 were being held in custody, a spokesman for the border police said. He declined to provide further information.

The Northwest Airlines flight, number NW0042, was turned round before noon at the request of the captain, shortly after taking off from Schiphol for the Indian city.

Northwest said some of the 149 passengers aboard had been behaving suspiciously.

Two Dutch Royal Air Force F-16s escorted the DC-10 aircraft on its return.

A spokesman for the national terrorism coordinator, Tjibbe Joustra, said no additional security precautions had been ordered for the present.

Northwest said passengers aboard the flight were being accommodated in hotels near Schiphol with a view to flying them to Mumbai Thursday.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur