Posted on 12/26/2009 7:45:24 AM PST by Presbyterian Reporter
Father reported him to US Authorities six months ago
The young man, who yesterday night attempted to ignite an explosive device aboard a Delta Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan in the United States has been identified as Abdul Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old son of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, former First Bank chairman. Mutallab, a former minister and prominent banker recently retired from the bank's board.
The older Mutallab, as at the time of filing this report, had just left his Katsina hometown for Abuja to speak with security agencies, family sources say. According to the family members, Mutallab has been uncomfortable with the boy's extreme religious views and had six months ago reported his activities to United States' Embassy, Abuja and Nigerian security agencies.
The older Mutallab was said to be devastated on hearing the news of Abdul Farouk's attempted bombing arrest. A source close to him said he was surprised that after his reports to the US authorities, the young man was allowed to travel to the United States.
The family home of the Mutallabs in Central London, is currently being searched by men of the Metropolitan Police. THISDAY checks reveal that the suspect, Abdulfarouk Umar Muttalab who is an engineering student at the University College, London had been noted for his extreme views on religion since his secondary school days at the British International School, Lome, Togo.
At the secondary school, he was known for preaching about Islam to his schoolmates and he was popularly called “Alfa”, a local coinage for Islamic scholar. After his secondary school, the young man, family sources said went to University College London to study engineering and later relocated to Egypt, and then Dubai. While in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, he declared to his family members that he did not want to have anything to do with any of them again.
His father, Muttalab is a regular visitor to the US where he visits for medical check up and holidays. He is expected to issue a statement later today.
Muttalab is married to an Arab of Yemeni-descent. However, THISDAY could not confirm at the time of filing this report if the woman is the mother of the young man now receiving treatment in Ann Harbor Hospital, Detroit, for burns suffered while he was trying to detonate the explosive device in the plane.
Meanwhile, Prof. Dora Akunyili, minister of information and communications, has issued the following statement: " Federal Government of Nigeria received with dismay the news of an attempted terrorist attack on a US airline. We state very clearly that as a nation, we abhor all forms of terrorism. The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has directed Nigerian security agencies to commence full investigation of the incident. While steps are being taken to verify the identity of the alleged suspect and his motives, our security agencies will cooperate fully with the American authorities in the on-going investigations. Nigerian government will be providing updates as more information becomes available."
Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, had caused panic when he tried to detonate some explosive device strapped to his leg on Christmas Day while the US airliner was about to land at Detroit Metro Airport with 278 people on board.
Abdulmutallab was said to have been overpowered by passengers after the failure of the device to ignite properly. He is currently being questioned by the FBI, according to a senior US official. A passenger, identified as Jasper Schuringa, told CNN that with the aid of the cabin crew, he helped subdue and isolate Abdulmutallab.
Agency reports quoted the US federal law enforcement and airline security agencies say Abdulmutallab was taken into custody and is being treated for second- and third-degree burns on his thighs. Reports said the remains of the device the suspect detonated have been sent to an FBI explosives laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.
Even with the initial official impression that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organised terrorist organisations, there are reports that he was indeed a hard-core, trained al-Qaeda operative. Abdulmutallab was quoted in a US federal security bulletin to have admitted having extremist ties and saying the explosive device "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used".
Statement from Representative Peter King of New York, the senior Republican on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, was quoted as branding the explosive device "fairly sophisticated". "(The device) appears to be different from what we've encountered before," Mr King told Fox News. "My understanding also is that while (the suspect) is not on a watch list, he definitely has terror connections.
"There is a terrorist nexus leading towards al-Qaeda involving this assailant. When it did go off he himself was seriously injured, my understanding is he has third-degree burns. This could have been catastrophic."
Abdulmutallab, according to sources, flew into Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on a KLM flight from Lagos and is not believed to be on any "no fly" list. This is despite his name appearing in a US database of people with suspect connections. An administration official also said he did not undergo secondary security screening in Amsterdam. It was from here he transferred to Northwest Airlines - which is undergoing a merger with Delta Airlines - for the nine-hour flight to Detroit in an Airbus A330-330.
US President Barack Obama, who was holidaying in Hawaii, acting on briefing on the incident, instructed in a subsequent discussion with security advisers "that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel".
Direct fallout of this incident is more rigorous security checks by airlines. A spokesperson for BAA said British passengers travelling to the US should expect their airline to carry out additional security checks prior to boarding.
"To support this important process, which will take time, we would advise passengers to leave more time to check in and limit the amount of baggage being taken on board the aircraft," she added. "If in any doubt, please contact the relevant airline for further information."
A Department of Homeland Security statement Friday told air passengers that they "may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the travelling [sic] public on domestic and international flights." Abdulmutallab’s trip began in Lagos, Nigeria where he boarded a KLM airline flight to Amsterdam and connected with Northwest Delta airline to Michigan, USA.
Sorry, I missed that......Did you say a ....”true Muslim friend of America??????” I’m sure you misspoke. You may now post a correction. You’re welcome!
When you enter Europe throught Schiphol it is not a bid deal. When you board a flight to the U.S. departing from Amsterdam it is a fairly big deal. Each passenger gets a very quick interview. If this guy’s name was on a watch list, he would have been searched. That is why I wonder if the runmor of not having a passport is true?
Well that’s easy enough to answer. I would have killed him with my hands. That good enough for you?
Depends on where folks were seated.
His father, Muttalab is a regular visitor to the US where he visits for medical check up and holidays.
Can’t get that in the UK ???
I boarded a flight to Newark from Schiphol and they hardly looked at me. The rumor makes sense in that the Indian escort evidently said that this guy was from The Sudan and therefore had no passport...The Sudan is not a very organized country, so him not having a passport would have made sense. Security cameras will pick up the Indian if he exists.
I pulled a person from a burning apartment once. There were others around ~ they simply didn't detect the extreme risk the occupants were in ~ but I simply barged in, grabbed a woman, and pulled her out as her blue nightgown melted around my left hand and arm.
The fire department got there minutes later.
“I certainly didn’t speculate about the identities or nationalities of the passenger heroes.”
IMO that is the right attitude to take, rather than rashly assuming something which did not occur. And I must agree, as has been pointed out elsewhere, that there may have been no Americans in the area who could have responded. My argument is with those who were quick to “praise” the quick response to the situation by Americans.
Bravo. Not that I disbelieve you, but I do recall the comment on another thread pointing out that it was precisely those who talked the biggest who did the least in the actual situation.
Not that I have any problem with killing in self-defense, which IMHO would be the case in this situation.
PING to #49
You are to be commended for your quick actions to save the live of a stranger.
My concern is whether enough Americans have the necessary fortitude and courage to act quickly when directly confronted by evil (I certainly make no confident assumptions about how I would have responded). There is something like a “critical mass” that IMHO would be required in any society to defeat evil, and I wonder if we are in danger of slipping below the necessary minimum to preserve our freedoms.
“Wonder why he doesn’t have the checkups with the socialist medical system in England?”
Where will he go after healthcare reform becomes law here?
“I’m not preaching to anyone, but I just wanted to say that all of us who believe in the sanctity of life, self-determination, and religious tolerance are all on the same side. It doesn’t matter what nationality etc. It seems that this problem has become bigger than any single country.”
Agreed.
Here’s a vid of passengers commenting. One says 5 people went after the scumbag:
Those in the first group know something about themselves, to wit, are they cowards or do they have what it takes. Those in the second group can presume but they can't know.
You are in the first group and you know the answer...you do have what it takes. Congratulations and welcome to the club.
Wow!
Thanks for the ping!
Gotta run out - but will check back later.
Seems something new is breaking every minute.
Fox just reported the explosive substance (CBS has said) was PETN.
I am not wise about such things - but have heard of that substance before...whew - those passengers are indeed fortunate to still be alive!
Bump to save.
A quick dive into an apartment fire just before "flashover" ain't no thang compared to that.
NOTE: our old buddy BCM (Battalion Chief Moran) had some conversations on FR with me about what it was like ~ and then just a few weeks later he was climbing the stairs at the WTC.
He knew too.
Bear with me... I’m still looking for evidence that other passengers participated in the takedown. Here’s the very latest in an (inaccurate) New York Times headline
“Passengers Took Plane’s Survival Into Own Hands”
By now we should all be fully aware of the NYT commitment to truthfulness and accuracy, right? Towards the bottom of the story the Times admits that it was a single passenger that acted:
“One passenger who was sitting in the same row as Mr. Abdulmutallab, but on the right side of the plane, apparently hurled himself across a middle row of four seats to tackle him. The passenger who hurtled across the aisle was Jasper Schuringa, a filmmaker from Amsterdam, a friend of Mr. Schuringa said Saturday. A senior airline executive said that flight attendants also jumped in.”
Good to hear that the airline claims that flight attendants also became involved. I would hate to learn that they cowered behind their curtains.
In any event, my argument is with those who rashly assumed it was Americans who grabbed the terrorist and saved the day. In this case one very impressive Dutchman is due our praise and admiration.
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