Al-Qaida link in failed plane attack

[David]

AP


DETROIT – A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida's instructions, set off an explosive device Friday in a failed terrorist attack on the plane as it was landing in Detroit, federal officials said.

Flight 253 with 278 passengers aboard was 20 minutes from the airport when it sounded like a firecracker had exploded, witnesses said. One passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to a front row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel, but were not specified.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. Others had slightly different spellings.

One law enforcement source said the man claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.

"It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase," said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. "First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke."

At least one passenger acted heroically.

Smith said the passenger, sitting opposite the man, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.

The incident was reminiscent of convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid, who tried to destroy a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes, but was subdued by other passengers. Reid is serving a life sentence.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

A statement Delta, which acquired Northwest, said, "Upon approach to Detroit, a passenger caused a disturbance onboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The passenger was subdued immediately and the crew requested that law enforcement meet the flight upon arrival.

"The flight, operated by Northwest using an Airbus 330-300 aircraft with 278 passengers onboard, landed safely. The passenger was taken into custody and questioned by law enforcement authorities."

The FBI and the Homeland Security Department issued an intelligence note on Nov. 20 about the threat picture for the 2009 holiday season from Thanksgiving through Jan. 1. At the time, intelligence officials said they had no specific information about attack plans by al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. The intelligence note was obtained by The Associated Press.

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about Flight 253 on Friday until it was on final approach to Detroit, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. That is when the pilot declared an emergency and landed without incident shortly thereafter, Cory said. The plane landed at 12:51 p.m. EST.

One U.S. intelligence official said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

The passenger was being questioned Friday evening. An intelligence source said the Nigerian passenger was being held and treated in an Ann Arbor, Mich., hospital.

All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

The official said an official determination of a terrorist act would have to come from the attorney general. The official added that additional security measures were being taken without raising the airline threat level, but declined to describe them.

The White House was coordinating briefings for the president through the Homeland Security Department, the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI.

A law enforcement source said the explosives may have been strapped to the man's body but investigators weren't immediately certain, partly because of the struggle with other passengers.

One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She didn't know the person's condition, or whether the person was a man or woman. She referred all inquiries to the FBI.

Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane's descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him."

"Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic," he said.

Rich Griffith, a passenger from Pontiac, said he was seated too far in the back to see what had happened. But he said he didn't mind being detained on the plane for several hours. "It's frustrating if you don't want to keep your country safe," he said. "We can't have what's going on everywhere else happening here."

J.P. Karas, 55, of Wyandotte, Mich., said he was driving down a road near the airport and saw a Delta jet at the end of the runway, surrounded by police cars, an ambulance, a bus and some TV trucks.

"I don't ever recall seeing a plane on that runway ever before and I pass by there frequently," he said.

Karas said it was difficult to tell what was going on, but it looked like the front wheel was off the runway.

"We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit http://www.tsa.gov for updates," Homeland Security Department said in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident and is closely monitoring the situation.

The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials.












This picture provided by J.P. Karas shows Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Amsterdam on Friday, Dec. 25, 2009.

[David]

AP


WASHINGTON – An official briefed on the attack on a Detroit airliner says the U.S. has known for at least two years that the suspect in the attack could have terrorist ties.

The official tells The Associated Press that the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, has been on a list that includes people with known or suspected contact or ties to a terrorist or terrorist organization.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The list is maintained by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. It includes about 550,000 names.

People on the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment list are not necessarily on the no-fly list. New York congressman Peter King says Mutallab was not on the no-fly list.

[David]

AP


WASHINGTON – U.S. counterterrorism officials are scrambling to assess a potential new threat from an explosive mixture that evaded detection aboard a Detroit-bound airliner but failed to bring down the plane.

Multiple law enforcement officials said the suspected attacker — identified as a Nigerian man named Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab — claimed to have acted on instructions from al-Qaida to detonate the explosive device over U.S. soil. The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

The law enforcement officials cautioned that such claims could not be verified immediately, and said the man may have been acting independently — inspired but not specifically trained or ordered by terror groups.

One law enforcement official, also speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the case, said Mutallab's name had surfaced earlier on at least one U.S. intelligence database, but not to the extent that he was placed on a watch list or a no-fly list.

As investigators try to determine the veracity of his claims, they also want to figure out exactly how the explosive device was made — and how much of a broader threat it may pose to air security.

In 2006, investigators in London uncovered a plot to use liquid-based explosives disguised in drink bottles to blow up airliners. The case prompted new restrictions on passengers carrying beverages or other liquids.

Now investigators are trying to determine whether the rules need to be tightened again, concerned that the components of the explosive device were smuggled onto the plane despite technological advances in screening and detection.

"It raises some serious questions, such as how was this person able to bring an explosive substance aboard a commercial airliner?" said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the senior Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Law enforcement officials said the man appeared badly burned on his legs, indicating the explosive was strapped there. The components apparently were mixed in flight and included a powdery substance, multiple law enforcement and counterterrorism officials said.

The explosive material burned but apparently did not produce enough of an explosion or fire to bring down the Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers and a crew of 11.

The incident marks the first time someone onboard a U.S. plane had sought to detonate a bomb since Richard Reid hid explosives in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight on Dec. 22, 2001 — almost exactly eight years before the newest incident. Reid is currently serving a life sentence.

In Friday's case in Detroit, no charges were filed immediately against the suspect, who was taken to a hospital.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

In a bare-bones statement about the incident, Delta, which is acquiring Northwest, said the passenger caused a disturbance, was subdued, and the crew requested law enforcement meet the flight.

Law enforcement officials said they had no preholiday intelligence indicating this type of attack was in the works.

The FBI and the Homeland Security Department issued an intelligence note on Nov. 20 about the threat picture for the 2009 holiday season from Thanksgiving through Jan. 1. At the time, intelligence officials said they had no specific information about attack plans by al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. The intelligence note was obtained by The Associated Press.

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. Officials said he was monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

The White House was coordinating briefings for the president through the Homeland Security Department, the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI.

Federal officials said there would be heightened security for both domestic and international flights at airports across the country, but the intensified levels likely would be "layered," differing from location to location depending on alerts, security concerns and other factors.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also was closely monitoring the situation.

The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials.

[darrels joy]

Possible Link Between Northwest Airlines Terrorist And Fort Hood Shooter?

by Glynnis MacNicol | 12:26 pm, December 26th, 2009





Here’s new, scary development in yesterday’s attempted terrorist attack on Northwest airlines flight by 23-year-old Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: he may have had ties to Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. From an AFP report via Playbook:

“Peter Hoekstra, the most senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and a member of Congress for Detroit’s state of Michigan, told AFP the suspect could have links to US-born Yemeni imam Anwar al-Aulaqi. Aulaqi, who is accused of being a senior Al-Qaeda recruiter, was known to have had emails contacts with US army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan who allegedly gunned down 13 people at a Texas military base last month. ‘He (Abdulmutallab) may have been in contact with the American imam al-Aulaqi,’ Hoekstra said after the bomb suspect apparently tried to blow up a US airliner as it began its descent into Detroit. ‘There are reports that he had contact and that he was recently in Yemen. The question we’ll have to raise is was this imam in Yemen influential enough to get some people to attack the US again,’ Hoekstra said.”

Hoekstra has been known for making somewhat exaggerated statements before and it remains to be seen if this one will pan out — still, obviously a very scary prospect should there be any truth to it. Meanwhile, according to NPR, passengers flying today appear to be taking yesterday’s incident and today’s increased security measures (such as they are) in stride:”People are very calm about it.” We’ll update as more info becomes available.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/is-th...-hood-shooter/

[revwardoc]

I hope we realize that the next such attempt won't be just a test run. This will mean more serious searches and pat-downs at airports.

[darrels joy]

U.S. intel: Jihadi cleric linked to Fort Hood attack blessed Flight 253 plot

posted at 4:45 pm on December 29, 2009 by Allahpundit


A hot scoop from the Wash Times. This makes three people connected with the plot whom we once had in our grasp and let go: The two turds I wrote about yesterday who were sprung from Gitmo and now Aulaqi, who was in the U.S. after 9/11, was targeted with a federal arrest warrant — and then, inexplicably, was allowed to leave the country. He’s been abroad ever since, evidently plotting to blow western jets out of the sky in between answering e-mails from Nidal Hasan.

The Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner had his suicide mission personally blessed in Yemen by Anwar al-Awlaki, the same Muslim imam suspected of radicalizing the Fort Hood shooting suspect, a U.S. intelligence source has told The Washington Times.

The intelligence official, who is familiar with the FBI’s interrogation of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, said the bombing suspect has boasted of his jihad training during interrogation by the FBI and has said it included final exhortations by Mr. al-Awlaki.

“It was Awlaki who indoctrinated him,” the official said. “He was told, ‘You are going to be the tip of the spear of the Muslim nation.’”…

In his FBI interrogation, according to the U.S. intelligence official, Mr. Abdulmutallab spoke of being in a room in Yemen receiving Muslim blessings and prayers from Mr. al-Awlaki, along with a number of other men “all covered up in white martyrs’ garments,” and known only by code names and “abu” honorifics.

How far back do these two go? According to CBS, they might have hooked up in Londonistan years ago when Abdulmutallab was a student and Aulaqi was preaching the good word of jihad in the local mosque. (He was kicked out of the country in 2006.) The question tomorrow will be whether the former ended up in Yemen for his own reasons or whether he followed Aulaqi there, in which case you’ve got a whole new avenue of missed red flags potentially opening up.

He could, of course, be lying about all this, trying to spook intel agents by mentioning Aulaqi knowing that he already has a body count at Fort Hood. But he also told the agents that there are many more jihadis in Yemen ready to follow his example and he appears to be telling the truth about that. Obama’s called a surprise presser that’s set to start at any minute as I’m writing this. Stand by to see if he delves into any of it in his remarks.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/2...ight-253-plot/