Washington: Nigerian national, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was on Wednesday charged in a six-count criminal indictment for his alleged role to blow up a North West
Airlines plane with 300 people on board on Christmas Day.
"The charges that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab faces could imprison him for life," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement after filing the case in a Michigan court.
"This investigation is fast-paced, global and ongoing, and has already yielded valuable intelligence that we will follow wherever it leads. Anyone we find responsible for this alleged attack will be brought to justice using every tool - military or judicial - available to our government," he said.
US Attroney for the Eastern district of Michigan said that the attempted murder of 289 innocent people merits the most serious charges available, and that`s what we have charged in this indictment.
According to the indictment, Abdulmutallab allegedly boarded Northwest Airlines flight 253, with 289 passengers and 11 crew members, at Amsterdam on December 25 carrying a concealed bomb.
The bomb components included Pentaerythritol (also known as PETN, a high explosive), Triacetone Triperoxide (also known as TATP, a high explosive), and other ingredients.
The bomb was concealed in his clothing and designed to allow him to detonate it at a time of his choice, thereby causing an explosion on the plane, the indictment said.
Abdulmutallab detonated the bomb, shortly prior to landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, causing fire in plane. According to an affidavit, filed in support of a criminal complaint, he was subdued and restrained by flight crew passengers after detonating the bomb. The plane landed shortly thereafter, and he was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection officers. Abdulmutallab was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Centre after the plane landed, as he required medical treatment.
Count 1 of the indictment charges Abdulmutallab with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison.
On the 2nd count, he has been charges with attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Count 3 charges him with wilful attempt to destroy or wreck an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Abdulmutallab has been charged with wilfully placing a destructive device on a plane within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US, which was likely to endanger the safety of such aircraft, on the 4th count. This carries a 20 years in prison.
On the 5th count, he has been charged with use of a firearm/destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence. And on the 6th, indictment charges him with possession of a firearm/destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, both the charges carries a consecutive mandatory 30 years in prison.
PTI
