Indonesians on board missing jet cleared of terror links

Seven Indonesian nationals who were on board the Malaysian airliner that went missing March 8 have been cleared of any kind of terrorist links, it was announced Thursday.

"I wish to state that none of our nationals had any link to terrorism," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday.

President Yudhoyono confirmed the news of dismissal of terror links based on a report submitted by Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto which stated that nothing "peculiar" had been found while investigating the backgrounds of all the seven nationals, the Malaysian Star reported.

"This matter has to be communicated clearly and there should be no speculation and incorrect news," President Yudhoyono added.

The Malaysian government had asked for help from all the countries whose nationals were on board the missing passenger jet, in order to rule out any kind of terrorist involvement.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished mysteriously about an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur March 8.

The Boeing 777-200ER was initially presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast in the South China Sea.

The plane was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6.30 a.m. the same day. The 227 passengers on board also included five Indians, 154 Chinese and 38 Malaysians.

Contact with the plane was lost along with its radar signal at 1.40 a.m. when it was flying over the air traffic control area of Ho Chi Minh City.