Federal officials and police are interviewing a Nigerian man, who allegedly tried to "explode" a powdery substance aboard a Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, injuring himself and two other passengers, law enforcement officials said.
The man said he was directed by al Qaeda to explode a small device in flight, over U.S. soil, ABC News has learned. Authorities have no corroboration of that information, and the credibility of the suspect's statements are being questioned, officials said.
The suspect was identified as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, who according to federal documents is an engineering student at University College of London.
He was flying from Nigeria to the United States for a religious seminar, according to his entry visa, which was issued June 16, 2008 and was good until June 12, 2010.
This would be so much more disturbing if the plan actually didn't seem completely stupid. What man in his right mind is going to detonate an explosive right near his genitals? And why would this doofus do it right in the passenger area of the plane where anyone could see, instead of in the lavatory? (Shades of Richard "Hotfoot Harry" Reid--another al-Qaeda-connected screw-up.)
Apparently, this suspect isn't what people normally think of when they think about suicide-mission terrorist recruits. He was brought up well-to-do and is well-educated (if a bit stupid in the carrying-out-blowing oneself up department):
Abdulmutallab's father, Umaru, is the former economics minister of Nigeria. He retired earlier this month as the chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria but is still on the boards of several of Nigeria's biggest firms, including Jaiz International, a holding company for the Islamic Bank. The 70-year-old, who was also educated in London, holds the Commander of the Order of the Niger as well as the Italian Order of Merit.
Dr Mutallab said he was planning to meet with police in Nigeria last night after realising his son had joined the notorious roster of al-Qa'ida terrorists, and is said to have warned the US authorities about his son's extreme views six months ago.
Police in London were collaborating with the American-led investigation into the would-be bomber. Scotland Yard detectives were searching his flat and two others in the same mansion block in Marylebone, central London. They later cordoned off the street lined with Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Mercedes cars. Police were also understood to be searching the basement of the building.
Abdulmutallab was reportedly on a security watch list, but those who studied with him expressed shock that the person who seemed so quiet and unassuming – a devout Muslim but not radical – apparently came close to perpetrating a Christmas Day massacre.
It is perhaps a little premature to suppose that the entire reason he decided it was a reasonable act to try to blow up a whole plane full of people (starting with a bomb near his junk) had to do with his religion. Maybe he found himself agreeing with al-Qaeda's politics, which seem to consist of hating Western influences and blowing stuff up over it. (Although it seems like he wasn't living too badly in London, if you follow the The Independent's story on him.) Maybe the whole terrorism bag just seemed more romantic and meaningful than his silver-spoon lifestyle (not that I suppose one can feel especially satisfied with one's accomplishments after blowing oneself to bits.)
No, I think the notion that suicide-bombing is worthwhile probably makes more sense if there's also the idea of being rewarded in heaven. And the idea of killing a bunch of other people who haven't done a thing to oneself personally, probably makes a lot more sense if one is convinced that the others are infidels, but that the would-be shaheed, himself, is doing God's work.
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