A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day was indicted Wednesday on charges including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was traveling from Amsterdam when he tried to destroy the plane carrying by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear, authorities say. The failed attack caused popping sounds and flames that passengers and crew rushed to extinguish.
The bomb was designed to detonate ''at a time of his choosing,'' the grand jury's indictment said.
There is no specific mention of terrorism in the seven-page indictment, but President Barack Obama considers the incident a failed strike against the United States by an affiliate of al-Qaida.
Abdulmutallab has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. His father warned the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria that his son had drifted into extremism in Yemen, but that threat was never fully digested by the U.S. security apparatus.
Since the failed attack, airlines and the Transportation Security Administration have boosted security in airports in the U.S. and around the world. Obama has said the government had information that could have stopped the attempted attack, but intelligence agencies failed to connect the dots.
Abdulmutallab faces up to life in prison if convicted of attempting to use a bomb on the plane. He is being held at a federal prison in Milan, Mich., and a message seeking comment was left Wednesday with his lawyer, Miriam Siefer.
He will make his first appearance in federal court on Friday for an arraignment and a hearing to determine if he stays in custody.
The controversy here is that accusation is something and the deed itself is something else.
Since we were not there, it is in hues of vagueness what happened there. But, if his father’s assertions about his son going on extremist are real, then we all should sit down and think about it. However, US officials should not neglect to set out for necessary precautions and they truly did.
About the impact of such incidents on Iran: I think the situation is getting worse each day. Because America has been long feeding thoughts on Iran making compromises against America trying to win allies like Al-Qaeda or other radical organizations. But, I, personally believe that this is in no way true! But again the fact is that America has already made up its mind when officials introduced Iran among the 14 nations that are needed to be checked during flights into the US.
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