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Suspect in Airliner Attack to Appear in Court

   VOA News 28 December 2009
   After the US authorities tightened security the day after an attempted
   terrorist  attack  on  a  Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight from
   Amsterdam,  Swiss International Air Lines implemented the new security
   measures for flights to the US, 27 Dec 2009.

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   After the US authorities tightened security the day after an attempted
   terrorist  attack  on  a  Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight from
   Amsterdam,  Swiss International Air Lines implemented the new security
   measures for flights to the US, 27 Dec 2009.

   The Nigerian man charged with attempting to blow up a U.S. airliner on
   Christmas Day is scheduled to appear in a Michigan court Monday.
   On  Sunday,  authorities  moved  Umar  Farouk  Abdulmutallab, 23, to a
   federal prison from a hospital where he was treated for burns.
   Abdulmutallab  says he was trained by al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. He
   allegedly  tried  to  ignite explosives just before Northwest Airlines
   Flight  253  landed  in  Detroit on a trip from Amsterdam.  The device
   failed  to  explode  and  Abdulmutallab  burned  his  leg before other
   passengers and flight crew restrained him.
   Abdulmutallab's  family  released  a statement Monday saying they lost
   contact with him while he was studying abroad.
   Umaru  Mutallab,  a  renowned  former  banker and government minister,
   warned  Nigerian  security  agencies  about his son's views two months
   ago.
   The  suspect is listed in a U.S. government intelligence database, but
   he  was  not  on  the so-called "no-fly list." Officials are reviewing
   security   and   trying  to  determine  how  Abdulmutallab  boarded  a
   U.S.-bound plane with potential explosives.
   Homeland  Security  Secretary  Janet  Napolitano told CNN there is "no
   indication"  that  Friday's  attempted  attack  was  part  of a larger
   terrorist plot.
   U.S. and European airlines have tightened security since the incident.
   Republican  Congressman  Peter  King,  of  the House Homeland Security
   Committee, said Sunday the U.S. security system failed and the suspect
   may have been seconds away from killing hundreds.
   White  House  Press  Secretary Robert Gibbs told ABC News the incident
   has  prompted  officials  to  review  procedures for placing potential
   terrorists  on  watch  lists,  and  re-evaluate  security  systems  at
   airports.
   Officials  say  Abdulmutallab began his trip in Nigeria.  The Nigerian
   government  says  the  suspect had been living outside the country for
   some time.
   Nigeria's    information   minister   told   reporters   Sunday   that
   Abdulmutallab  snuck  into  the  country  Thursday, the day before the
   attack, and left the same day.
   Nigerian  officials  say  they  have launched their own probe into the
   incident.

    Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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