Aussie44
Member
NO LIVE LINKS TO GENERAL NEWS STORIES, PLEASE!
A Nigerian man with links to Al Qaeda was overpowered by passengers and crew as he tried to set off an explosive device onboard a flight from the Netherlands to the US, officials say.
United States authorities have labelled the incident, on board the flight carrying 278 people, "an attempted act of terrorism".
The suspect suffered third-degree burns and was taken into custody.
The passengers, two of whom suffered minor injuries, disembarked safely from the Delta Air Lines plane in Detroit, after the flight which had departed from Amsterdam.
"There was a pop. And everybody got a little bit startled. And then we looked around and saw nothing," said Syed Jafry, who was sitting three rows behind the suspected terrorist.
"After a few seconds or so, then there was a little bit of light, a little bit of - kind of flameish light and there was fire. And people began to panic almost. And everybody was rushing towards that area and tried to get water, a blanket and fire extinguisher."
People nearby tried to put the flame out, but it went a bit higher.
Mr Jafry says a young man sitting three or four rows behind him ran over and tackled the suspected terrorist.
"He took care of that suspect. He handled him pretty good," Mr Jafry said.
"There was a little bit, obviously, of a struggle. And I think he took it under control."
The cabin crew helped drag the man to the front of the plane and isolate him from the rest of the passengers.
"I don't recall that he was struggling," Mr Jafry told CNN. "He appeared to be stunned... he was kind of more surprised."
Michelle Kellerman was one of the passengers who heard the pop.
"We saw the fear in the flight attendants eyes and then they grabbed the fire extinguisher," she told CNN.
People were yelling for water but then the crew rushed forward with a fire extinguisher and put the fire out, said Zina Saiga.
"And one guy put a lock on his head and dragged him to the front, his pants down - I heard the pants were on fire," she said. "I thought they pulled it down so he cannot run."
Ms Keepman, said the incident was "terrifying."
"I thought - I think we all thought we weren't going to land, we weren't going to make it," she said.
Obama concerned
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, is apparently monitoring the situation.
"We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism," a White House official said on condition of anonymity.
Representative Peter King, who sits on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the explosive device was "fairly sophisticated," and the suspect was Abdul Mudallad, a 23-year-old Nigerian.
"When it did go off, he himself was seriously injured. He has third degree burns. It appears to be different from what we've encountered before," Mr King told Fox News.
Speaking to CNN, Mr King, a New York Republican, said Mudallad "did appear in a database as far as having a terrorist connection."
"My understanding is... that he does have Al Qaeda connections, certainly extremist terrorist connections and his name popped up pretty quickly" in a search of intelligence data bases, Mr King said.
Mudallad was not on a "no-fly" list but his name was in a database indicating "a significant terrorist connection," Mr King said.
The Transportation Security Administration said the aircraft was moved to a remote area at Detroit's airport where all baggage was being re-screened.
Citing unnamed US officials, the Wall Street Journal said Mudallad had told investigators Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen had given him the device and instructions on how to detonate it.
But NBC, citing anti-terrorism officials, said Mudallad "claims to have been acting on his own."
The aircraft, Northwest Airlines flight 253, was an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers. Delta Air Lines has taken over Northwest.
Mr King said the suspect started his journey in Nigeria.
"How sophisticated he was, I don't know," Mr King said. "But again, it was a fairly sophisticated device. I would say we dropped the ball on this one."
"Passengers may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the travelling public on domestic and international flights," the Department of Homeland Security said a statement.
Larger plot
Mr King said there was an investigation into whether the incident may have been part of a larger plot. There is a "world-wide alert to make sure this is not part of a larger overall scheme," he said.
The attempt appeared similar to one eight years ago when a British-born man, Richard Reid, tried but failed to blow up a trans-Atlantic jumbo jet by lighting explosives stuffed into his shoes.
Reid, a follower of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is serving a life sentence in a US prison.
It also is the latest in a string of terrorism-related plots in the United States over the past few months, including one in which an Afghan-born man was arrested in September on charges he planned to set off bombs in the United States.
US officials have repeatedly warned about terrorism attacks from overseas and have grown increasingly worried about the potential for home-grown plots.
How do they get on a plane in the first place.
Ken
A Nigerian man with links to Al Qaeda was overpowered by passengers and crew as he tried to set off an explosive device onboard a flight from the Netherlands to the US, officials say.
United States authorities have labelled the incident, on board the flight carrying 278 people, "an attempted act of terrorism".
The suspect suffered third-degree burns and was taken into custody.
The passengers, two of whom suffered minor injuries, disembarked safely from the Delta Air Lines plane in Detroit, after the flight which had departed from Amsterdam.
"There was a pop. And everybody got a little bit startled. And then we looked around and saw nothing," said Syed Jafry, who was sitting three rows behind the suspected terrorist.
"After a few seconds or so, then there was a little bit of light, a little bit of - kind of flameish light and there was fire. And people began to panic almost. And everybody was rushing towards that area and tried to get water, a blanket and fire extinguisher."
People nearby tried to put the flame out, but it went a bit higher.
Mr Jafry says a young man sitting three or four rows behind him ran over and tackled the suspected terrorist.
"He took care of that suspect. He handled him pretty good," Mr Jafry said.
"There was a little bit, obviously, of a struggle. And I think he took it under control."
The cabin crew helped drag the man to the front of the plane and isolate him from the rest of the passengers.
"I don't recall that he was struggling," Mr Jafry told CNN. "He appeared to be stunned... he was kind of more surprised."
Michelle Kellerman was one of the passengers who heard the pop.
"We saw the fear in the flight attendants eyes and then they grabbed the fire extinguisher," she told CNN.
People were yelling for water but then the crew rushed forward with a fire extinguisher and put the fire out, said Zina Saiga.
"And one guy put a lock on his head and dragged him to the front, his pants down - I heard the pants were on fire," she said. "I thought they pulled it down so he cannot run."
Ms Keepman, said the incident was "terrifying."
"I thought - I think we all thought we weren't going to land, we weren't going to make it," she said.
Obama concerned
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, is apparently monitoring the situation.
"We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism," a White House official said on condition of anonymity.
Representative Peter King, who sits on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the explosive device was "fairly sophisticated," and the suspect was Abdul Mudallad, a 23-year-old Nigerian.
"When it did go off, he himself was seriously injured. He has third degree burns. It appears to be different from what we've encountered before," Mr King told Fox News.
Speaking to CNN, Mr King, a New York Republican, said Mudallad "did appear in a database as far as having a terrorist connection."
"My understanding is... that he does have Al Qaeda connections, certainly extremist terrorist connections and his name popped up pretty quickly" in a search of intelligence data bases, Mr King said.
Mudallad was not on a "no-fly" list but his name was in a database indicating "a significant terrorist connection," Mr King said.
The Transportation Security Administration said the aircraft was moved to a remote area at Detroit's airport where all baggage was being re-screened.
Citing unnamed US officials, the Wall Street Journal said Mudallad had told investigators Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen had given him the device and instructions on how to detonate it.
But NBC, citing anti-terrorism officials, said Mudallad "claims to have been acting on his own."
The aircraft, Northwest Airlines flight 253, was an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers. Delta Air Lines has taken over Northwest.
Mr King said the suspect started his journey in Nigeria.
"How sophisticated he was, I don't know," Mr King said. "But again, it was a fairly sophisticated device. I would say we dropped the ball on this one."
"Passengers may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the travelling public on domestic and international flights," the Department of Homeland Security said a statement.
Larger plot
Mr King said there was an investigation into whether the incident may have been part of a larger plot. There is a "world-wide alert to make sure this is not part of a larger overall scheme," he said.
The attempt appeared similar to one eight years ago when a British-born man, Richard Reid, tried but failed to blow up a trans-Atlantic jumbo jet by lighting explosives stuffed into his shoes.
Reid, a follower of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is serving a life sentence in a US prison.
It also is the latest in a string of terrorism-related plots in the United States over the past few months, including one in which an Afghan-born man was arrested in September on charges he planned to set off bombs in the United States.
US officials have repeatedly warned about terrorism attacks from overseas and have grown increasingly worried about the potential for home-grown plots.
How do they get on a plane in the first place.
Ken
Last edited by a moderator:
