Stewardess among three killed as Saudis storm hijacked jet
Three people, including a stewardess, have been killed as Saudi special forces stormed a hijacked Russian airliner.
The attack ended a hostage situation that began almost 24 hours earlier when armed Chechen men seized the plane after takeoff from Istanbul.
Several others were injured in the army raid at Medina airport, said paramedics.
Two men and a woman were killed in the operation, which lasted a few minutes and came after an hour-long standoff between Saudi authorities and hijackers, who were armed with knives.
The paramedics said the woman was knifed and shot to death, and the two men were gunned down. A paramedic said: "As soon as the woman opened the door, she was both knifed and shot to death."
There were conflicting reports over the identity of those killed. The number of hijackers was not immediately clear either. Earlier reports put the number between two and four men.
In Moscow, aides to Kremlin envoy Sergei Yastrzhembsky said one Turkish passenger, one hijacker - "apparently the younger one," and a stewardess were killed.
One man was handcuffed and led away by Saudi security forces, said the paramedics.
A Saudi Interior Ministry statement said that "an anti-terrorism force from the special forces was able to storm the Russian plane... and was able to free all the passengers in a swift operation and controlled the hijackers."
A surgeon who boarded the plane after the rescue operation said seven people were injured, and most of them were being treated for minor cuts and bruises.
Earlier, as many as 46 of the 174 people aboard the plane were freed or escaped from the plane. Anxious relatives of passengers who were aboard the jet are waiting for news in Moscow.
