by radio the release of two Palestinian gunmen responsible for an attack on Hellinikon International Airport. They claimed to have killed five hostages, including the plane's first officer. The terrorists then threatened to crash the jet in the middle of Athens if their demands were not met. In reality, only one Italian hostage, Domenico Ippoliti, had been killed and one other hostage wounded. After failing to persuade the Greek authorities on releasing the terrorists, they limited their demands to just refuel and leave. The plane took off again from Athens after sixteen hours on the ground and after the gunmen had released the wounded hostage and dumped the body of the dead hostage onto the tarmac. Damascus stopover The plane next headed for Beirut, Lebanon, where Lebanese authorities refused to allow its landing, and blocked the runway with vehicles. Cyprus also refused to allow landing. The terrorists on board ordered the plane to head for Damascus, Syria, allegedly because the plane was running low on fuel. After they landed in the Syrian capital's airport, Air Force Commander Major General Naji Jamil attempted to persuade the Palestinians to release the hostages, but they refused. The Syrians provided food to everyone on board and refueled the plane. They also treated one of the hijackers for a head injury. The plane took off again two to three hours after landing. Landing in Kuwait The commandeered jet headed for Kuwait, where Kuwaiti authorities refused to allow it to land. Captain Kroese was ordered by the terrorists to land anyway on a secondary runway. An hour of negotiations between the Palestinian gunmen and the Kuwaiti authorities ended with the release of all twelve remaining hostages in exchange for "free passage" to an unknown destination for the hijackers. The terrorists were permitted to retain their weapons and, upon leaving the plane, raised their hands to the cameras in a V-for-victory sign. Aftermath The terrorists negotiated their escape, but they were still captured shortly thereafter. The Kuwaiti authorities, after questioning the terrorists, decided not to put them on trial and considered the possibility of handing them over to the (PLO). The factors that came into play at this point were complex, and sparked a diplomatic case that saw the US and many Arab and European countries clashing over the fate of the terrorists and which nation should have trialled them. Italy, despite having made a formal request