Detroit: British student in al-Qaeda airline bomb attempt

A Nigerian engineering student at a British university, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, tried to blow up a transatlantic aircraft nearing Detroit in a suspected al-Qaeda plot.

Detroit: UK student in al-Qaeda airline bomb attempt Photo: Reuters

Detroit: UK student in al-Qaeda airline bomb attempt Photo: Reuters

The 23-year-old attempted to ignite an explosive device strapped to his leg as a Northwest Airlines flight carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew came in to land in Detroit. He suffered second degree burns before being overpowered.

One passenger was also taken to hospital.

Mutallab, whom US security sources said was a student at University College London, claimed to have picked up his device in Yemen and to be an agent of al-Qaeda.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism, and that stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel. It did not specify what those were.

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.

According to US intelligence officials, the explosive device was a mixture of powder and liquid.

The suspect was on an intelligence database but was not on the government’s no-fly list, meaning he was known to authorities but not considered a high risk.

A federal “situational awareness” bulletin stated. “The subject is claiming to have extremist affiliation and that the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used.”

“It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase,” said passenger Peter Smith. “First there was a pop, and then there was smoke.”

Another passenger Syed Jafri, who was three rows away, said: “There was a pop and everyone was startled. Then there was flames and fire and people started to panic. A young man behind me jumped on him.”

The incident was reminiscent of 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.

The would-be bomber began his trip in Nigeria and connected in Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

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