Detroit bomber charged in court

[Magoichi Saika]

Detroit bomber charged in court

11:55 AM Jan 07, 2010

WASHINGTON - Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was yesterdaycharged with attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction aboard a plane in the United States, as under-fire security chiefs vowed to revamp intelligence services.

The 23-year-old Nigerian was indicted on six counts arising out of the botched Christmas Day plot to blow up a Northwest airliner packed with 279 passengers and 11 crew as it approached Detroit, Michigan.

Michigan district court documents accused him of "carrying a concealed bomb" inside his clothing on board Flight 253 from Amsterdam.

"The bomb consisted of a device containing Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN), Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) and other ingredients," the charge read, adding that both substances were highly explosive.

"The bomb was designed to allow defendant Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to detonate it at a time of his choosing, and to thereby cause an explosion aboard Flight 253."

If convicted of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, the Nigerian faces life imprisonment, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Other charges carry a maximum of 20 years, while two charges of possession of a firearm carry a mandatory 30 years in prison.

"This investigation is fast-paced, global and ongoing, and it has already yielded valuable intelligence that we will follow wherever it leads," US Attorney-General Eric Holder said in the statement. He vowed that "anyone we find responsible for this alleged attack will be brought to justice using every tool - military or judicial - available to our government".

The White House will release an unclassified version of a report into the intelligence failures later today.

"I think you'll see tomorrow that this is a failure that touches across the full waterfront of our intelligence agencies," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. AFP


<!--replace --> <script type="text/javascript"> var text = "WASHINGTON - Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was yesterdaycharged with attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction aboard a plane in the United States, as under-fire security chiefs vowed to revamp intelligence services.

The 23-year-old Nigerian was indicted on six counts arising out of the botched Christmas Day plot to blow up a Northwest airliner packed with 279 passengers and 11 crew as it approached Detroit, Michigan.

Michigan district court documents accused him of \"carrying a concealed bomb\" inside his clothing on board Flight 253 from Amsterdam.

\"The bomb consisted of a device containing Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN), Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) and other ingredients,\" the charge read, adding that both substances were highly explosive.

\"The bomb was designed to allow defendant Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to detonate it at a time of his choosing, and to thereby cause an explosion aboard Flight 253.\"

If convicted of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, the Nigerian faces life imprisonment, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Other charges carry a maximum of 20 years, while two charges of possession of a firearm carry a mandatory 30 years in prison.

\"This investigation is fast-paced, global and ongoing, and it has already yielded valuable intelligence that we will follow wherever it leads,\" US Attorney-General Eric Holder said in the statement. He vowed that \"anyone we find responsible for this alleged attack will be brought to justice using every tool - military or judicial - available to our government\".

The White House will release an unclassified version of a report into the intelligence failures later today.

\"I think you\'ll see tomorrow that this is a failure that touches across the full waterfront of our intelligence agencies,\" said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. AFP

"; var pageHeight = 600; var fontIndex = 2; // var fontSize = new Array("0.63em", "0.69em", "0.75em", "0.88em", "1em", "1.13em"); var fontSize = new Array('0.63em', '0.69em', '0.75em', '0.88em', '1em', '1.13em'); </script>

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Tight security as Nigerian bomb suspect pleads not guilty

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="789"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="3" height="26"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="5"> </td> <td colspan="2" valign="top" width="784"> Tight security as Nigerian bomb suspect pleads not guilty
Posted: 09 January 2010 0423 hrs


DETROIT, Michigan: Hobbled by leg irons, a young Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a US plane on Christmas Day pleaded not guilty Friday during his first court appearance amid heightened security.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, spoke softly from the dock to confirm his name, how it was spelt and his age. His expression flat, his eyes averted from the gathered crowd, he said he understood the six charges against him.

His court-appointed lawyer, Miriam Siefer, entered the plea of not guilty to all six charges, including attempted murder of 290 people on board the plane and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.

"At this time our client would like to enter a plea of not guilty," Siefer said, but added "we have - with our client's consent - consented to detention."

Abdulmutallab, son of a prominent Nigerian banker, was arrested after the botched Al-Qaeda plot, in which explosives allegedly stitched into his underwear failed to detonate aboard a Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

He was badly burned when the device sparked a fire. Asked if he had taken any medication in the past 24 hours, he said "Yes. Painkillers," holding his left hip.

It was not US intelligence that thwarted the attack, but passengers and crew, who tackled Abdulmutallab before he was escorted off the plane.

The foiled bombing triggered global alarm, leading the United States to adopt stringent new screening and security measures at airports around the world. Dozens of names have also been added to no-fly lists.

President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered a sweeping overhaul of flawed intelligence services, which he has blamed for missing red flags that could have detected the plot.

Obama said spy agencies did not properly "connect and understand" disparate data that could have detected the plot during its planning stages by an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen.

Probes revealed that US analysts knew Abdulmutallab was an extremist and that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was plotting an attack, but did not connect the dots.

Ahead of the arraignment, US marshals helped local police secure the area around the ornate, marble-floored Theodore Levin Courthouse.

Metal barricades blocked off the street along the austere building. Inside, two bomb-sniffing dogs and their handlers had earlier checked every room and, as is now standard for US courtrooms, every visitor to the Depression-era courthouse passed through a metal detector.

A man who said he represented the Nigerian embassy but would not give his name told reporters that Abdulmutallab's family had not attended the hearing.

Citing British intelligence officials, CBS television reported the former University College London boasted during his interrogation that some 20 others were being trained to carry out similar attacks.

US officials have said Abdulmutallab has provided useful leads during interrogations with FBI and other US agents who are leading the investigation.

The head of national intelligence meanwhile named former CIA director John McLaughlin to lead a probe into US intelligence failures exposed by the Christmas Day attack and a US soldier's November shooting rampage at a Texas army base.

Both Abdulmutallab and Major Nidal Hasan, the army psychiatrist who trained his guns on fellow servicemembers killing 12 soldiers and one civilian, are believed to be inspired by a radical US-born Islamic cleric now in Yemen - Anwar al-Awlaqi.

In a continued sign of the heightened vigilance, the FBI arrested two alleged associates of an Afghan immigrant accused of planning bombings in New York around the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

One of the men, taxi driver Zarein Ahmedzay, pleaded not guilty after a New York judged charged him with making false statements to the FBI.

In Detroit, around 20 demonstrators stood shivering outside the courthouse holding American flags and signs declaring "Not in the name of Islam" and "Islam is against terrorism."

Majed Moughni, who moved to the Detroit area from Lebanon, said he was worried there would be a backlash against Muslims.

"We're trying to unite as Muslims and we're going to eradicate all terrorism from our homes and our mosques and we're going to send terrorists back to the caves of Afghanistan," he said.

- AFP/yb




</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[Shin Orochi]

World
Home > Breaking News > World > Story
Jan 9, 2010

20 more bombers in training

WASHINGTON - A YOUNG Nigerian charged with trying to blow up a US airliner boasted during his interrogation that some 20 others were being trained to carry out similar attacks, CBS reported on Friday. British intelligence officials said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, had 'boasted that close to 20 other young Muslim men were being prepared in Yemen to use the same technique to blow up airliners,' CBS reported. Abdulmutallab on Friday pleaded not guilty to six charges arising out of the botched Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. He allegedly stitched two highly explosive substances into his clothes, and tried to detonate them as the plane carrying 290 people approached Detroit. But the device failed, and instead Abdulmutallab was arrested after being overpowered by passengers and crew. He has since been interrogated by FBI and US agents who are leading the investigation. US officials have said he is providing useful leads. -- AFP

 

[M.Bison]

Tape of bomber reviewed


Apr 28, 2010
Tape of bomber reviewed

WASHINGTON - US INVESTIGATORS were reviewing a videotape of the accused underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab apparently receiving weapons training before he allegedly tried to blow up a US airliner, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday. ABC News broadcast the videotape on Monday in which Abdulmutallab, originally from Nigeria, made an apparent martyrdom statement in Arabic and also appears holding a machine gun at a desert training camp. ABC News said the video was produced by Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

'We'll be looking at all of the information, all the evidence that is uncovered and going through with him much of this information so that we can glean actionable intelligence,' Mr Holder told reporters in response to a question about the tape. Mr Holder said he had seen the videotape, which shows others at the training camp, but some of them had their faces blurred or covered. It also shows bullets being fired into a flag with 'UN' written on it and another one with a Jewish star on it.

In the video, Abdulmutallab says Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula 'have the right to wage Jihad because the enemy is in your land.' On Christmas Day last year, Abdulmutallab tried but failed to blow up a US commercial flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with a device hidden in his underwear, US officials said. While charged with the alleged bombing attempt, he is now cooperating with investigators. He has previously told investigators he was trained by militants in Yemen affiliated with Al-Qaeda and that they gave him the bomb. -- REUTERS