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US Plane Suspect 'a London Student'
This is London ^ | Saturday, December 26, 2009

Posted on 12/25/2009 7:17:19 PM PST by kristinn

An al Qaida-linked suspect who allegedly tried to blow up a transatlantic plane is studying at a UK university, it has been reported.

The Nigerian is accused of trying to detonate a powdery substance on a plane from Amsterdam as it prepared to land at Detroit with 278 people on board.

US sources said he was subdued by passengers and has since claimed to have been acting for al Qaida.

He has been named by ABC News as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, an engineering student at University College London, with the broadcaster citing US government documents.

The suspect, who has also been identified as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab in other reports, is currently under guard at a Michigan hospital.

He was flying from Nigeria to the United States for a religious ceremony according to his entry visa, ABC News said, which was issued on June 16 last year and valid until June 12, 2010.

(Excerpt) Read more at thisislondon.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 200806; 20080616; 20100612; abdulmudallad; abdulmutallab; alqaeda; alqaedauk; alqaida; amsterdam; chemicals; engineer; engineering; engineeringstuden; explosives; flight253; globaljihad; hospital; hospitals; jihadinamerica; london; michigan; mudallad; muslimstudents; mutallab; nigeria; nigerian; pantiebomber; tm; ukmuslims; umarfarouk; universitycollege; visa
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To: pctech

From what I’ve heard it appears to be this:

He smuggled two chemicals on board the plane taped to his leg, one liquid, one powder.

On board he mixed them to produce a liquid that would accelerate the combustion of the pillow’s fiber fill, and possibly also ignite it.

He got it on the pillow, and started it burning. Probably with the intent of filling the airliner with smoke, possibly to start a cabin fire as well. It could have caused death through smoke inhalation, and possibly affected the ability of the pilots to land (vision & breathing) and possibly a panic to cause the passengers to affect the aircraft’s balance.

I haven’t seen anything reliable (yet) that suggests there was an explosive.

Overall I’d rate this attack as hair-brained and lame, but it shows a few things:

They have a process for bringing small quantities of prohibited or suspicious materials on board (plastic containers on leg.)

They’ve been finding materials that’ll pass undetected through routine screening.

They either don’t have, or didn’t trust this guy with, anything especially destructive. Yet.

What have others got?


141 posted on 12/25/2009 11:58:34 PM PST by saundby
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To: skeptoid

great post.


142 posted on 12/26/2009 12:21:27 AM PST by ColdOne (ColdOne)
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To: DoorGunner

LOL!


143 posted on 12/26/2009 2:56:30 AM PST by livius
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To: kristinn
Firecracker? I don't think so! Terrorist Attempt Update: Bomb Was Incendiary, Comprised of Mixed Liquids; Obama Only Notified Three Hours After Incident

More:

A Nigerian man, claiming to be linked to al-Qaeda, allegedly tried to set off an incendiary device aboard a transatlantic airplane Friday as it descended toward Detroit's airport in what the White House called an attempted act of terrorism.

The man was quickly subdued after another passenger leapt on top of him, others on the plane said, and Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam landed safely around 1 p.m. Friday. The suspect was being treated at a hospital for burns he suffered while igniting the device...

The suspect[,] Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab[,] 23, attends University College London, where he studies engineering.

Although not on the TSA's "no-fly" list, Abdulmutallab's name appears to be included in the government's records of terrorism suspects, according to a preliminary review, authorities said.

Abdulmutallab has told federal investigators that he had ties to al-Qaeda and traveled to Yemen to collect the incendiary device and instructions on how to use it, according to a federal counterterrorism official briefed on the case. Authorities have yet to verify the claim, and they expect to conduct several more interviews before they determine whether he is credible, the official said.

Federal authorities have been told that Abdulmutallab allegedly had taped some material to his leg, then used a syringe to mix chemicals with the powder while on the airplane, one official said.

But doing so "caused him to catch on fire," Richelle Keepman, who sat a few rows in front of Abdulmutallab, told WDIV-TV.

...

Officials described the device as incendiary rather than explosive, pending tests by forensics experts at the FBI. Incendiary devices generally deliver less of an impact than explosive devices.


144 posted on 12/26/2009 3:02:45 AM PST by narses ('in an odd way this is cheering news!'.)
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To: kristinn

This situation is no laughing matter but this thread is one of the fuuniest I’ve read in some time!!! rotfl


145 posted on 12/26/2009 3:37:52 AM PST by timetostand (Merry Christmas)
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To: DoorGunner

Mr DoorGunner, you are a funny!


146 posted on 12/26/2009 4:06:24 AM PST by XHogPilot
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To: kristinn

The Nigerian was subdued by a Dutch citizen, Jasper Schuringa. He used his hands to stop the fuse the Nigerian ignited. The Nigerian managed to smuggle the explosives unnoticed thu Schiphol srcurity, the PVV (Freedom Party) demanded an emergency council on this.


147 posted on 12/26/2009 4:12:42 AM PST by knighthawk (We will always remember We will always be proud We will always be prepared so we may always be free)
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To: Virginia Ridgerunner

Let me get this straight. He’s on a terrorist watch list that is separate from the aviation terrorist watch list? Coming over here for religious purposes? How F’n stupid are we?


148 posted on 12/26/2009 4:20:19 AM PST by Ben Chad
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo
We’ve all had our pants catch fire during a final approach into Detroit....

Maybe he was just doing his impression of a Ford Pinto...

149 posted on 12/26/2009 4:26:17 AM PST by COBOL2Java (Big government more or less guarantees rule by creeps and misfits.)
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To: Ben Chad
How F’n stupid are we?

Uhhh...


150 posted on 12/26/2009 4:28:30 AM PST by COBOL2Java (Big government more or less guarantees rule by creeps and misfits.)
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To: brityank

He reportedly had this powder “strapped to his groin area”. Now he’s got third-degree burns.

If he burned his johnson off, it only seems fair, Perhaps the prospect of spending the rest of your life in a Detroit jail with you willy a festering mass of incinerated flesh will serve as a deterrent.


151 posted on 12/26/2009 4:38:28 AM PST by worst-case scenario (Striving to reach the light)
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To: worst-case scenario
Political correctness, which is going to get many of us killed, is a worldwide phenomenon.

Digust and hatred of political correctness, is also a worldwide phenomenon.

Fellow Freepers, Lurkers, Fellow Americans, just check in with what some of the British are saying about this situation involving one of these Muslim "youths" studying in one of their universities in London, on his way to kill nearly 300 people or more in Detroit yesterday (from UK newspaper, 26 December / Online Times):

Michael Jenkins wrote: Aren't we lucky that the teaching at UCL (University College, London) is so bad that he couldn't rig his detonator correctly? Fortunately he was an engineering student and not doing interior design.

December 26, 2009 11:40 AM GMT PAUL LAMBERT wrote: Hopefully this will encourage the US to put real pressure on the UK to finally tighten up it's border controls in a meaningful way as opposed to the lip service that is currently paid. December 26, 2009 11:06 AM GMT

Nova Prosper wrote: Lets not get distracted here, the main priority the country faces, is that we don't let the Tories reinstate fox hunting. Sorting out all the terrorists residing in our universities can come second ,third or more likely never.

Darren G wrote: Another 'student' that Labour let into our country i see. No more student visas should be issued until Labour are booted from power next year.

L S.A wrote: I agree airport security in Lagos, Nigeria is little more than a joke but what about at Amsterdam where this crazy guy boarded the plane. As a young man travelling alone, he should have been profiled and double checked anyway!!!

Memosa Spring wrote: What I don't understand is that hsould I happen to have an ingrown toe nail while I'm travelling somehow the security screening picks that up! How can it not pick up what he was carrying? I know Nigeria quite well. Security there is a joke. Just give a gaurd a cheap ball point pen and they'll let you into the departure lounge with whatever you want! Give them just one USA $ and they'll give you a box of matches ot go with it! Those who know Nigerian airports- especially LAGOS will know exactly what I'm saying.

Richard Beardsley wrote: Geoff POwell: the fact that he boarded a plane somewhere else is not the issue, yes the Americans could have kept a better tab on him but how many "students" are currently exploring the UK and taking an interest in the architecture of large important buildings. How many students are not studying? What is the average attendance in class? You would do nothing to harm the UK, neither would I. However not everyone has the same ideals. The underfunded army is doing what it can but this current problem makes the Irish problem fade into insignificance.

Geoff POwell wrote: Why don't you people read the article properly. He flew from Nigeria, the fact that he's studying at a British university has no relevance here at all. US intelligence knew about him, he was flying on a US airline and he changed in Amsterdam. The UK authorities have no part in the failure to stop this guy.

Richard Beardsley wrote: I love reading the Times beacause there are things covered that are not published in Australian sites and it's good to know what is happening elsewhere.This is worrying when the average bloke can see a pattern occurring here. Student from overseas, already on a watchlist, extremely religious, why is the UK so weak in naming and shaming these groups. Have we got so bogged down in Human Rights issues that we dare not offend a minority religious group that the majority of people in the UK already know who they are. The whole backbone of what used to be British has gone. No I'm not a fanatic or bigot, just seeing how the UK is when viewed from another country. Wake up before it's too late, if it's not already."

152 posted on 12/26/2009 4:45:59 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Each contemptuous Senate Democrat is thinking: "Oh, it will all blow over by spring--they'll forget")
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To: worst-case scenario

Sigh, are we now going to be required to drop our pants before boarding a plane?


153 posted on 12/26/2009 4:52:01 AM PST by Weird Tolkienish Figure
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To: Ben Chad

Pretty stupid....


154 posted on 12/26/2009 5:22:18 AM PST by Virginia Ridgerunner (Sarah Palin has crossed the Rubicon!)
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To: kristinn
I have every confidence that HLS Director Janet Napolitano will get to the bottom of all this. /sarc off.
155 posted on 12/26/2009 5:26:04 AM PST by Shqipo (Palin/Thompson 2012)
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To: brityank

One note about this, The PC approach to all of this now adopted by Hussein is obviously not working. With EVIL GWB we had no terror attacks on US Soil or Airspace, with Hussein, we have had two (that we know of...)
Soooooo I agree, we take our safety into our own hands...


156 posted on 12/26/2009 5:41:22 AM PST by Shady (The Fairness Doctrine is ANYTHING but fair!!!!)
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To: kristinn

I heard his uncle, the Nigerian Minister of Finance, recently died. In fact, I had gotten an email from him offering to share a portion of the millions with me if I would only help him get it out of Nigeria.


157 posted on 12/26/2009 5:41:39 AM PST by TC Rider (The United States Constitution - 1791. All Rights Reserved.)
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To: Shqipo
I have every confidence that HLS Director Janet Napolitano will get to the bottom of all this. /sarc off.

Here's an airborne Janet looking at a forest fire.

158 posted on 12/26/2009 6:24:12 AM PST by csvset
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To: worst-case scenario
...If he burned his johnson off...

He's going to not be able to enjoy his 72 virgins...

159 posted on 12/26/2009 6:32:28 AM PST by Lurking in Kansas (Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down their level, then beat you with experience.)
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To: csvset

It wasn’t too long ago that Homeland Security was something that could be taken seriously.


160 posted on 12/26/2009 6:34:14 AM PST by popdonnelly (Yes, we disagree - no, we won't shut up - no, we won't quit.)
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