“We are Muslims,” said the hijackers, according to Suzan Fraser for Associated Press .
And the Times of India says they claimed to be members of Al-Qaeda also:
ISTANBUL: Hijackers claiming to have bombs and to be members of Al-Qaida on Saturday hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul.
The hijackers had asked that the plane be diverted to Iran or Syria but the pilots landed the plane at Antalya airport, near the Mediterranean coast, said Tuncay Doganer, CEO of the private Atlas-Jet airline company.
Most of the passengers managed to escape from the rear exit of the plane while the hijackers were releasing the women from the front exit, one passenger told private NTV television.