US Air Marshals Took over Amsterdam-Bombay Flight

Two armed US air marshals took over the Northwest Airlines flight that returned to Amsterdam's Schiphol shortly after taking off for Mumbai, a Dutch newspaper reported Thursday.

Other reports said the crew of the DC-10 reacted after a mobile telephone rang and a group of men cheered in response. Dutch border police said they had made 12 arrests but refused to provide further information while investigations continued.

The airliner, with 149 passengers aboard, returned to Schiphol shortly before noon Wednesday, escorted by two Dutch F-16 fighters. Dutch reports said the aircraft had turned round after the captain requested assistance while in German airspace, but the German authorities said it had not reached Germany.

The daily Telegraaf said two marshals had taken over the flight, ordering passengers to remain in their seats after a group of passengers began fiddling with mobile phones and rummaging in their hand luggage.

Sarat Menon, an Indian passenger who works in Brussels and who sat next to the group, described them as aged 30-40 and "certainly not educated." He added that four of the Urdu-speaking men had long beards and said they had been on holiday in Tobago.

After the marshals took over, they ordered passengers to "sit upright in their chairs... We were not allowed to walk around or to go to the toilet."

Menon said the atmosphere had been calm throughout, but that there had been some tension on arrival at Schiphol.

Analysts suggested a terrorist attack had not been suspected. They noted that the aircraft had parked normally among other aircraft, not on an isolated spot on the airport runway.

Normal border police had arrested the men, not a special anti-terrorism unit, they said.

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