Mughniyeh Lover Grounds French Jetliner

A Beirut-to-Paris flight was grounded on Tuesday after a passenger who had left her boyfriend behind said she feared he might have put a bomb in her luggage to keep her from leaving, a security official said.

 

The girl, Katia Salha, a Shiite Muslim from south Beirut, “was either in love with this guy called Hussein Mughniyeh, or they were engaged, and as the plane was taxiing to the runway she got an anonymous message on her phone telling her that he wished her bon voyage,” the official said.

 

“She got scared and she alerted a hostess that she feared her boyfriend might have left a bomb in her luggage.”

 

An airport official told AFP the pilot of the Air France flight taxied back to the gate for the plane to be searched.

 

Nothing was found in the baggage of the woman who holds Lebanese and French nationalities, and she was forced off the flight, the official said.

 

The flight, which had been due to leave at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) was delayed for three hours.