Nigerian attempts to set off explosives on flight into Detroit

ABC News:

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 ceremony, according to his entry visa, which was issued June 16, 2008 and was good until June 12, 2010.

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The Wall Street Journal Reports:

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The passenger was identified by authorities as Abdul Mudallad, a 23-year-old Nigerian national, according to Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who is the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The device was technologically advanced and potentially devastating, Mr. King said. "This was not a firecracker," he said.

Stephanie van Herk, a passenger from the Netherlands who was in seat 18B, said the Northwest plane had lowered its landing gear when she heard a loud bang. At first she thought the plane might have gotten a flat tire, but then she said saw a flame leap from the lap of a man sitting in the row behind her in the window seat, 19A.

"It was higher than the seat," said Ms. van Herk, who was traveling to Detroit on route to a vacation in New York.

"Then everyone started screaming. It was panic," Ms. van Herk, 22 years old, said. She said the flight attendants shouted, "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

Mr. King said the suspect's name did not appear on any of the terrorist watch lists maintained by U.S. authorities, but that the Nigerian national did turn up "hot" in other terrorism-related databases maintained by intelligence officials.

Mr. Mudallad suffered 3rd-degree burns when the device detonated on approach to Detroit, according to Mr. King. He said none of the other passengers was seriously injured.

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It appears he has flunked a course in explosives and probably singed his privates, which seems appropriate. If he is associated with al Qaeda it is more evidence of the shrinking talent pool for terrorist engaged in mass murder for Allah operations.

It is not at all surprising that he has been hanging out in Londonistan.

The NY Times reports:

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It was unclear how the man, identified by federal officials as Abdul Mudallad, 23, of Nigeria, managed to get the explosive on the plane. A senior administration official said the government did not yet know whether the man had the capacity to take down the plane but that he did have the intent to create trouble.

“We’re trying to ascertain exactly what he had and what he thought he was doing, but our sense is he wanted to wreak some havoc here and was attempting to do just that,” the official said. “Whether at the end of the day he had the ability to do that is what I think we’ll be able to pull together over the next several days as we investigate this.”

A senior Department of Homeland Security official said the device Mr. Mudallad had on him was “more incendiary than explosive,” and that he had tried to ignite the device or mixture to cause a fire as the Northwest airliner was approaching Detroit.

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This sounds about right. I suspect he was limited in what he could carry aboard and the did not have sufficient quantities of the substance to achieve his objective.

The Times says the suspect claimed to obtain the incendiary device in Yemen. He must have gotten it before the recent attacks on al Qaeda operations there.