Suspected Terrorist Tried to Blow Up Plane, U.S. Says (Update1)

A suspected terrorist tried to blow up a Detroit-bound trans-Atlantic flight yesterday 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 is a Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport "definitely appears to be al-Qaeda related," King said in an interview. "This was not a Firecracker. This was for real. "The senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Pete Hoekstra, said they had information the suspect may have had contact with a radical imam based in Yemen with ties to the suspected shooter in the Killings in Fort Hood in Texas.
Obama called for "all appropriate measures to be taken to increase security" on the suspected attack, the White House said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security said passengers may notice additional screening at airports.

Suspect in Custody

The suspect, who was taken into custody in Detroit, told authorities that the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions is 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 Cable News Network said. The fire from the explosion was large enough to require a fire extinguisher, CNN said, citing interviews with passengers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Detroit is leading the probe, said spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold, a review that includes indentifying the material used by the suspect.
Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for the North West parent Delta Air Lines Inc., said earlier that the suspect had firecrackers.

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