Sudarsan Raghavan Daniela Deane The Washington Post

A hijacker who commandeered an Egyptian plane to Cyprus was taken into custody Tuesday after a nearly six-hour standoff touched off by unclear motives, officials said.

An Egyptian commerical airliner carrying dozens of passengers and several crewmembers was hijacked by a passenger who threatened he had an explosive belt and forced to land in Cyprus Tuesday, according to the country's civil aviation authority.

A hijacker who commandeered an Egyptian plane to Cyprus was taken into custody Tuesday after a nearly six-hour standoff touched off by unclear motives, officials said.

An Egyptian commerical airliner carrying dozens of passengers and several crewmembers was hijacked by a passenger who threatened he had an explosive belt and forced to land in Cyprus Tuesday, according to the country's civil aviation authority.