Suspected Terrorist Tried to Blow Up Airplane, Officials Say

Dec. 25 (Bloomberg) -- A suspected terrorist tried to blow up a Detroit-bound transatlantic flight with 278 passengers before he was subdued, U.S. officials said.
The passenger was attempting to destroy the plane with an explosive device, said Peter King of New York, the top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. White House officials said President Barack Obama is treating the incident as an attempted terrorist attack. King identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad of Nigeria.
The incident on Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam "definitely appears to be al-Qaeda related," King said in an interview. "This was not a firecracker. This was for real."
Obama called for "all appropriate measures to be taken to increase security" after the suspected attack, the White House said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security said passengers may notice additional screening at airports.
The suspect, who was taken into custody, told authorities that the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions on when it was to be used, CNN reported, citing a federal security bulletin. The passenger was taken to a hospital to be treated for burns, the network said. The fire from the explosion was large enough to require a fire extinguisher, CNN reported, citing interviews with passengers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the events on the flight, a probe that includes indentifying the device used by the suspect, said spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold.
Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for Northwest parent Delta Air Lines Inc., said earlier that the passenger had firecrackers.
‘A Lot of Panic’
One passenger, who said he had flown from the United Arab Emirates, was quoted on WDIV television as saying the incident occurred during the plane’s descent. The passenger, identified by the station as Syed Jafri, said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and 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.
The plane was moved to a remote area, and authorities interviewed passengers and rescreened luggage after the Airbus 330 landed at about 11:53 a.m. local time, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. Ann Davis, a spokeswoman with TSA said the agency hasn’t raised the threat level in the airline sector from orange, the second-highest level.
Obama Conference Call
Obama convened a secure conference call with John Brennan, homeland security and counter-terrorism adviser, and Denis McDonough, National Security Council chief of staff, the White House said. He was alerted between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Hawaii time, which is between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Detroit.
Obama "is actively monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates," the White House said.
The circumstances and timing of the Christmas incident echoed the attempt by the so-called shoe bomber Richard Reid to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 to Miami from Paris on Dec. 22, 2001. Flight attendants and passengers subdued Reid as he tried to light explosives in his high-top sneakers.
Reid, a British citizen, who declared himself to be a member of the al-Qaeda terror network, later pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to life in prison in January 2003.
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