COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

Hijack threat forces Nepal airport alert

Extra security personnel have been drafted in to increase checks on passengers

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Security at Nepal's only major airport has been put on a heightened state of alert after authorities received a threat of a planned terrorist hijacking.

A letter received by authorities in the past week reportedly warns that supporters of Osama bin Laden may already be in Kathmandu.

It details a possible plot to hijack a plane and crash it into one of three possible targets in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

According to the Kathmandu Post newspaper, which said it had seen a copy of the warning, the letter said a terrorist cell connected to bin Laden was already in the Nepalese capital.

COUNTRY PROFILE At a glance: Nepal Provided by CountryWatch.com    CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

It said the targets in New Delhi included the U.S. embassy, the office of India's prime minister or his home.

The English-language daily said the handwritten letter was mailed from the southern Indian city of Chennai.

'Alarming'

It warned authorities of a "possible plot by members of Osama bin Laden's group" to hijack an airliner flying from Kathmandu.

"The message is very alarming and we are all concerned, but we think it could be a hoax," Bishnu Subedi of the Board of Airlines Representatives was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

Nonetheless extra personnel have been drafted in to carry out security checks at Kathmandu airport, with every passenger being frisked.

In 1999 Muslim militants hijacked a plane from Kathmandu and eventually landed in the Afghan city of Kandahar.

One passenger was killed in the hijacking and the rest were freed after a week in exchange for the release of three militants held in Indian jails.

Both Nepal and India have given their backing to the U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan and offered use of their facilities for aircraft taking part in operations.