Malaysia's Minister of Transport, Hishamuddin Hussein, during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur Wong Maye-E/AP
U.S. Intel Agencies Say No Terror Chatter on Vanished Malaysian Airlines Flight
One U.S. official said terrorist involvement in Malaysia Flight MH370 would constitute a sharp diversion from typical terrorist 'signatures.' By Global Security Newswire
U.S. intelligence services have heard no extremist chatter about a missing Malaysian commercial jetliner, despite fears of foul play, the New York Times reports.
A militant organization has yet to take credit for the still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, multiple high-level U.S. government personnel indicated in a Sunday report by the newspaper. No physical trace of the Boeing 777 aircraft has been found since the plane went missing on March 8 with 239 people onboard.
One U.S. insider said that any extremist connection to the airplane's disappearance "would be unlike anything we have seen before," due to the absence of typical "signatures" from terrorists. U.S. authorities have weighed a number of speculative culprits, including Chinese Uighur separatists and an al-Qaeda offshoot based in Southeast Asia.
An international search for the plane has expanded to cover 11 nations and vast expanses of ocean, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein indicated in Sunday remarks to journalists.
Washington's role in the investigation has been restricted by Malaysian officials, who might have turned down any wide-ranging U.S. support over fears about appearing dependent on external help, according to the Times. U.S. authorities as of Sunday knew little about an electronic flight simulator the Malaysian government had seized from the lead pilot's residence.
"We just don’t have the right to just take over the investigation," a high-level U.S. government insider stated. "There’s not a whole lot we can do absent of a request from them for more help or a development that relates to information we may have."