Washington: The terror suspect, who tried to
blow up a US plane in a Christmas day attack, had explosive
chemicals and a syringe sewn into his underwear which he tried
to assemble and explode mid air, a media report said on Sunday.
Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab said to FBI
officials that he had obtained explosive chemicals and a
syringe that were sewn into his underwear from an al Qaeda-
associated bomb expert in Yemen, The New York Times said.
The authorities have not yet independently corroborated
the Yemen connection claimed by the man, who suffered burns in
his failed attempt to bring down the airliner and is in a
hospital in Michigan.
But a law enforcement official briefed on the
investigation said that the suspect's account was "plausible"
and that he saw "no reason to discount it," the daily said.
Abdulmutallab, 23, has been charged with "willfully"
attempting to destroy the Amsterdam-Detroit Northwest Flight
253 and with placing a destructive device on the aircraft.
He was subdued and restrained by the passengers and
flight crew soon after his failed attempt. The plane was
carrying 279 passengers and 11 crew members.
A preliminary FBI analysis found the device contained
PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, a high explosive. Further
analysis is on.
A passenger stated that he observed the man holding what
appeared to be a partially melted syringe, which was smoking.
The passenger took the syringe from Abdulmutallab, shook
it to stop it from smoking and threw it to the floor of the
aircraft.
FBI agents later 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 affidavit
said.
The Times said Congressmen briefed by the FBI on this
issue spoke about the Yemani connection to the plot.
"The facts are still emerging, but there are strong
suggestions of a Yemen-al Qaeda connection and an intent to
blow up the plane over US airspace," said Congressman Jane
Harman, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee
on Intelligence.
However, the Embassy of Yemen in Washington said in a
statement that so far it has not received any communication
from the US on this issue.
It assured full support to the federal authorities if the
alleged links to Yemen is identified.
Father of Detroit would-be bomber warned US
US government officials told a news agency that the Nigerian man charged with trying to destroy a jetliner came to the attention of US intelligence in November when his father went to American embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, to express his concerns about his son.
A congressional official said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, popped up in US intelligence reports about four weeks ago as having a connection to both al Qaeda and Yemen.
Another government official said Abdulmutallab's father went to the embassy in Abuja with his concerns, but did not have any specific information that would put him on the "no-fly list" or on the list for additional security checks at the airport.
Neither was the information sufficient to revoke his visa to visit the United States. His visa had been granted June 2008 and was valid through June 2010. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because neither was authorised to speak to the media.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, December 27, 2009, 14:32