Infidels Paradise

CNN:

Suspect charged with trying to destroy Northwest flight

Romulus, Michigan — A Nigerian man was charged in a federal criminal complaint Saturday with attempting to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft on its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas Day, and with placing a destructive device on the aircraft, the Department of Justice said.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, will make his initial court appearance later today, the Justice Department said.

Abdulmutallab is the son of Alhaji Umar Mutallaba, who recently stepped down as chairman of First Bank PLC in Nigeria, a family source told CNN.

Abdulmutallab suffered burns when he ignited a small explosive device aboard the plane; he was hospitalized in Michigan for his burns. His plans were foiled by crew members and passengers.

The family source told CNN that Abdulmutallab received a college degree in London, England, where he lived for three years.

A spokesman at the University College of London told CNN on Saturday that a student by the name of Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was enrolled in the department of mechanical engineering from September 2005 to June 2008.

The last time Abdulmutallab’s family heard from him was two months ago, when they received a text message, the family source said. Abdulmutallab told the family earlier that he had gone to Yemen.

Abdulmutallab went through “normal security procedures” in Amsterdam, and those were “well-performed,” the Netherlands’ national coordinator for counterterrorism told CNN.

Witnesses said they heard a loud pop or bang and saw something burning in Abdulmutallab’s lap.

Passenger Jasper Schuringa told CNN that with the aid of the Northwest flight’s cabin crew, he helped subdue and isolate Abdulmutallab. Crew members and passengers extinguished the small fire.

Schuringa said he saw that Abdulmutallab was holding a burning object between his legs.

“I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” said Schuringa, who suffered minor burns on his hands.

Abdulmutallab, who is from Nigeria, was taken into custody and hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns on his thighs, according to federal law enforcement and airline security sources. The suspect was “talking a lot” to the FBI, said a senior U.S. official.

Another person was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, about 25 miles away, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said.

The remains of the device were sent to an FBI explosives lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, security sources said.

No other suspicious materials were found on the plane or in luggage, the law enforcement and airline security sources said. The suspect had only carry-on luggage.

The plane, an Airbus 330 with Delta Air Lines markings, landed shortly before noon. It was carrying 278 passengers. Delta is the parent company of Northwest.

The sources told CNN that the suspect flew into Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on a KLM flight from Lagos, Nigeria, and is not believed to be on any “no fly” list, although his name does appear in a U.S. database of people with suspect connections. He did not undergo secondary security screening in Amsterdam, an administration official said.

The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, said an official who is familiar with the investigation.

Abdulmutallab, however, claimed to have extremist ties and said the explosive device “was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used,” a federal security bulletin obtained by CNN said. Read the federal criminal complaint and affidavit

President Obama, who is spending the holidays in Hawaii, was briefed on the incident and directed “that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel,” said White House spokesman Bill Burton. Obama made no changes to his schedule, Burton said.

An official with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration told CNN there will be increased security at airports, and screening likely will take longer. No details were provided on all the steps being taken.

The official advised travelers to allow for extra time before their flights. There will be no changes in screening requirements, and no change in the number of carry-on bags allowed.

A note was released earlier this week by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis that said FBI officials “currently have no specific, credible intelligence indicating plans by al Qaeda or other terrorist groups to conduct attacks in the United States during the 2009 holiday season.”

In London, counterterrorism police officers were searching buildings and making inquiries Saturday at the request of U.S. authorities, a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told CNN.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he is following developments closely and has assured the public that police in Britain are working closely with U.S. investigators “to uncover the full background to the incident.”

See what British police found out

In Nigeria, the government on Saturday said it “received with dismay the news of attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. airline” and has ordered its security agencies to investigate the incident.

“While steps are being taken to verify the identity of the alleged suspect and his motives, our security agencies will cooperate fully with the American authorities in the on-going investigations,” said Professor Dora Akunyili, Nigeria’s minister of information and communications.

“We state very clearly that as a nation, we abhor all forms of terrorism.”

ABC News:

Investigators: Northwest Bomb Plot Planned by al Qaeda in Yemen

Officials Say Bomb Materials Sewn Into Suspect’s Underwear by Top Terror Bomb Maker

By RICHARD ESPOSITO and BRIAN ROSS

The plot to blow up an American passenger jet over Detroit was organized and launched by al Qaeda leaders in Yemen who apparently sewed bomb materials into the suspect’s underwear before sending him on his mission, federal authorities tell ABC News.

Investigators say the suspect had more than 80 grams of PETN, a compound related to nitro-glycerin used by the military. The so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, had only about 50 grams kin his failed attempt in 2001 to blow up a U.S.-bound jet. Yesterday’s bomb failed because the detonator may have been too small or was not in “proper contact” with the explosive material, investigators told ABC News.

Investigators say the suspect, Abdul Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian student whose birthday was last Tuesday, has provided detailed information about his recruitment and training for what was supposed to be a Christmas Day suicide attack.

According to the authorities, Abdulmutallab says he made contact via the internet with a radical imam in Yemen who then connected him with al Qaeda leaders in a village north of the country’s capital, Sanaa.

Authorities say they do not yet know if the imam was the same one who was in contact with Maj. Nidal Hasan prior to his alleged attack on soldiers at Fort Hood last month. American-born Anwar Awlaki has lived in Yemen since 2002 and is considered a major recruiter for al Qaeda by U.S. authorities. He survived a U.S.-backed air strike earlier this week.

The suspect in the Northwest Airlines attack told FBI agents he lived with the al Qaeda leader in Yemen for about a month and was not allowed to leave as he was trained in what to do and how to do it, authorities said.

At some point, according to the account, Abdulmutallab said he was joined by a Saudi citizen whom he described as an al Qaeda bomb maker.

Bomb Sewn Into Underwear
The device intended to blow up the Northwest flight was made at the location in Yemen, according to Abdulmutallab, and consisted of a six-inch packet of powder and a syringe with a liquid. Both were sewn into the student’s underwear so they would be near his testicles and unlikely to be detected, he told agents.

Authorities say the combination of the liquid in the syringe with the powder created the flash bomb, which was extinguished by passengers and air crew.

Investigators are conducting tests to determine the exact nature of the powder and chemicals used.

Abdulmutallab suffered second-degree burns in his genital area, investigators told ABC News.

The al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen has increasingly taken on a lead role in coordinating major terror attacks as the U.S. has disrupted al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan, according to American authorities.

Authorities say the suspected bomber was traveling on a visa issued by the State Department on June 16, 2008 and valid until June 12, 2010. Officials tell ABC News he was on a U.S. “terror watch list” but not on the “no fly” list, which would have prevented him from boarding the flight.

He had previously traveled to the U.S. on an 11-day trip to Houston in Aug. 2008.

Published reports in Nigeria said Abdulmutallab’s father had contacted the U.S. embassy six months ago about concerns his son had become radicalized and could pose a threat to the U.S. One report said the father could not understand why his son was allowed to board a flight to the U.S. given his warning.

Politico:

Accused bomber used ‘high explosive’

The U.S. charged a 23-year-old Nigerian man with attempting to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft on its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas Day, and with placing a destructive device on the aircraft, the Justice Department announced.

The announcement said the device contained PETN (pentaerythritol), which the Justice Department called “a high explosive.”

“FBI agents recovered what appear to be the remnants of the syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab’s seat, believed to have been part of the device,” the released added.

The government said: “Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, a Nigerian national, boarded Northwest Flight 253 in Amsterdam, Netherlands on December 24, 2009 and had a device attached to his body. As the flight was approaching Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Abdulmutallab set off the device, which resulted in a fire and what appears to have been an explosion. Abdulmutallab was then subdued and restrained by the passengers and flight crew. The airplane landed shortly thereafter, and he was taken into custody by Customs and Border Patrol officers.

Read the six-page criminal complaint here. Here’s the text of the Justice Department release:

A 23-year-old Nigerian man was charged in a federal criminal complaint today with attempting to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft on its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas Day, and with placing a destructive device on the aircraft.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, a Nigerian national, boarded Northwest Flight 253 in Amsterdam, Netherlands on December 24, 2009 and had a device attached to his body. As the flight was approaching Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Abdulmutallab set off the device, which resulted in a fire and what appears to have been an explosion.

Abdulmutallab was then subdued and restrained by the passengers and flight crew. The airplane landed shortly thereafter, and he was taken into custody by Customs and Border Patrol officers.
A preliminary FBI analysis found that the device contained PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, a high explosive. Further analysis is ongoing. In addition, FBI agents recovered what appear to be the remnants of the syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab’s seat, believed to have been part of the device.

“This alleged attack on a U.S. airplane on Christmas Day shows that we must remain vigilant in the fight against terrorism at all times,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “Had this alleged plot to destroy an airplane been successful, scores of innocent people would have been killed or injured. We will continue to investigate this matter vigorously, and we will use all measures available to our government to ensure that anyone responsible for this attempted attack is brought to justice.”

Abdulmutallab required medical treatment, and was transported to the University of Michigan Medical Center after the plane landed. He will make his initial court appearance later today.

Interviews of all of the passengers and crew of Flight 253 revealed that prior to the incident, Abdulmutallab went to the bathroom for approximately twenty minutes, according to the affidavit. Upon returning to his seat, Abdulmutallab stated that his stomach was upset, and he pulled a blanket over himself. Passengers then heard popping noises similar to firecrackers, smelled an odor, and some observed Abdulmutallab’s pants leg and the wall of the airplane on fire. Passengers and crew then subdued Abdulmutallab and used blankets and fire extinguishers to put out the flames. Passengers reported that Abdulmutallab was calm and lucid throughout. One flight attendant asked him what he had had in his pocket, and he replied “explosive device.”

These prosecutions are being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Customs and Border Protection, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The public is reminded that criminal complaints contain mere allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.