TheCable

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has confirmed that all the 111 passengers aboard the Libyan plane that was hijacked have been released.

The hijacker had told crew he was “pro-Gaddafi” and that he was willing to let all the passengers leave the Airbus A320, but not with its seven crew, if his demands were met.

It was unclear what the demands were or whether the hijacker was acting alone.

The captain of the plane had informed the control tower that there were threats of blowing it up with a home-made explosive device.

Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and the country has been racked by factional violence since.

According to Muscat, the passengers included 82 men, 28 women and one infant.