23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab being taken into custody on Flight 253.
RECAP:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-nsd-1383.html
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESaturday, December 26, 2009
Nigerian National Charged with Attempting to Destroy Northwest Airlines Aircraft
WASHINGTON - 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.
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23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab being taken into custody on Flight 253.
23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab being taken into custody on Flight 253.
Alledged?
Off Thread Topic:
Thanks to the suspect’s father for attempting to do the right thing. -Cindy
#
Thanks to amom for pointing to thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415466/posts
Suspect’s Father Told U.S. of Son’s Extremism
New York Times ^ | December 26, 2009 | Eric Schmitt and Eric Lipton
Posted on December 26, 2009 1:37:37 PM PST by reaganaut1
The Nigerian man accused of trying to ignite an incendiary device aboard a trans-Atlantic jetliner on Friday came to the attention of American officials at least “several weeks ago,” but the initial information was not specific enough to raise alarms that he could potentially carry out a terrorist attack, a senior Obama administration official said on Saturday.
The investigative file was opened after the father of the suspect, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, warned officials at the United States Embassy in Nigeria of his son’s increasingly extremist religious views, the official said.
“The information was passed into the system, but the expression of radical extremist views were very nonspecific,” said the senior administration official, who has been briefed on the inquiry but spoke on condition of anonymity because it is continuing. “We were evaluating him, but the information we had was not a lot to go on.”
The incident prompted a significant change to airline security on Saturday. Domestic and international passengers will not be allowed to move about aircraft during the last hour of a flight, and there will be extra screening of baggage at airports.
It was unclear whether Mr. Abdulmutallab’s name was entered into the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment list, which includes people with known or suspected contact or ties to a terrorist or terrorist organization. That list is maintained by the United States National Counterterrorism Center. It includes about 550,000 names.
Those people, however, are not necessarily placed on the federal government’s so-called no-fly list, which prohibits persons entering the United States because of known or suspected terrorists links. Mr. Abdulmutallab was not on that list, federal officials say.
Mr. Abdulmutallab [...] was carried off the plane handcuffed to a stretcher, his trousers sheared off.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“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.”
Alleged attack? Alleged plot?
Holder should be forced to resign immediately (he already should have been forced to resign over the terrorist trial being located in NYC - criminal trial).
ADDING a copy of the complaint to post no. 6.
aren't muzzies supposed to avoid alcohol?