Terror fears intensify after failed jet attack
Source: Agencies |
December 27, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A NIGERIAN man believed to be linked to al-Qaida militants was in custody yesterday after he tried to ignite an explosive device on a US passenger plane as it approached Detroit, American officials said.
The suspect, who suffered extensive burns, was overpowered by passengers and crew on the Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam. The passengers, two of whom suffered minor injuries, disembarked safely from the Delta Air Lines plane.
"We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism," a White House official said.
Airports and airlines across Europe moved to tighten security on US-bound flights.
Authorities in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands either increased passenger checks or reinforced security measures already stepped up due to the busy Christmas and New Year travel period.
US-bound travelers at Amsterdam's airport were undergoing body searches yesterday. The measures follow a formal request from the US Department of Transportation to ratchet up security.
Dutch authorities said the Nigerian man who tried to ignite the explosive device had boarded in Lagos and passed through security checks while in transit at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
Terrifying trip
Passenger Richelle Keepman said it was terrifying.
"I thought - I think we all thought we weren't going to land, we weren't going to make it," Keepman told NBC News.
Another passenger, Melinda Dennis, said the man was severely burned.
"His entire leg was burned. They required a fire extinguisher as well as water to put it out," she told NBC.
Representative Peter King of New York, the senior Republican on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the explosive device was "fairly sophisticated," and the suspect was a 23-year-old Nigerian.
Federal officials identified him as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, according to The New York Times and the Washington Post. ABC News and NBC News reported that he attends University College London, where he studied engineering.
Abdulmutallab tried to ignite the device or mixture as the aircraft was approaching Detroit, officials said.
King told CNN the suspect was listed in a database as having a connection to militants.
'Dropped the ball'
"My understanding is ... that he does have al-Qaida connections, certainly extremist terrorist connections, and his name popped up pretty quickly" in a search.
"How sophisticated he was, I don't know," he said. "But again, it was a fairly sophisticated device. I would say we dropped the ball on this one."
Judith Sluiter, a spokeswoman for Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTb, said it had started a probe into the incident. The NCTb said it could not rule out the potential for dangerous items to be brought on board, "especially objects that with the current security technology such as metal detectors are difficult to detect."
Officials from Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority and its Federal Ports Authority met yesterday to discuss the incident.
According to the Associated Press, a prominent Nigerian banker says he is meeting with police as his son may be the suspect in custody.
The aircraft, Northwest Airlines flight 253, was an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers. Delta Air Lines has taken over Northwest.
Once on the ground, the aircraft was moved to a remote area at Detroit's airport where all baggage was being rescreened, the US Transportation Security Administration said.
Citing US officials, the Wall Street Journal said the Nigerian had told investigators that al-Qaida operatives in Yemen had given him the device and instructions on how to detonate it.
But NBC, citing anti-terrorism officials, said he claimed to have been acting on his own.
King said investigators were looking into whether it was part of a larger plot.
The suspect, who suffered extensive burns, was overpowered by passengers and crew on the Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam. The passengers, two of whom suffered minor injuries, disembarked safely from the Delta Air Lines plane.
"We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism," a White House official said.
Airports and airlines across Europe moved to tighten security on US-bound flights.
Authorities in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands either increased passenger checks or reinforced security measures already stepped up due to the busy Christmas and New Year travel period.
US-bound travelers at Amsterdam's airport were undergoing body searches yesterday. The measures follow a formal request from the US Department of Transportation to ratchet up security.
Dutch authorities said the Nigerian man who tried to ignite the explosive device had boarded in Lagos and passed through security checks while in transit at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
Terrifying trip
Passenger Richelle Keepman said it was terrifying.
"I thought - I think we all thought we weren't going to land, we weren't going to make it," Keepman told NBC News.
Another passenger, Melinda Dennis, said the man was severely burned.
"His entire leg was burned. They required a fire extinguisher as well as water to put it out," she told NBC.
Representative Peter King of New York, the senior Republican on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the explosive device was "fairly sophisticated," and the suspect was a 23-year-old Nigerian.
Federal officials identified him as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, according to The New York Times and the Washington Post. ABC News and NBC News reported that he attends University College London, where he studied engineering.
Abdulmutallab tried to ignite the device or mixture as the aircraft was approaching Detroit, officials said.
King told CNN the suspect was listed in a database as having a connection to militants.
'Dropped the ball'
"My understanding is ... that he does have al-Qaida connections, certainly extremist terrorist connections, and his name popped up pretty quickly" in a search.
"How sophisticated he was, I don't know," he said. "But again, it was a fairly sophisticated device. I would say we dropped the ball on this one."
Judith Sluiter, a spokeswoman for Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTb, said it had started a probe into the incident. The NCTb said it could not rule out the potential for dangerous items to be brought on board, "especially objects that with the current security technology such as metal detectors are difficult to detect."
Officials from Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority and its Federal Ports Authority met yesterday to discuss the incident.
According to the Associated Press, a prominent Nigerian banker says he is meeting with police as his son may be the suspect in custody.
The aircraft, Northwest Airlines flight 253, was an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers. Delta Air Lines has taken over Northwest.
Once on the ground, the aircraft was moved to a remote area at Detroit's airport where all baggage was being rescreened, the US Transportation Security Administration said.
Citing US officials, the Wall Street Journal said the Nigerian had told investigators that al-Qaida operatives in Yemen had given him the device and instructions on how to detonate it.
But NBC, citing anti-terrorism officials, said he claimed to have been acting on his own.
King said investigators were looking into whether it was part of a larger plot.
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