Mutallab hid 80grams of bomb-explosive in underwear

Mutallab hid 80grams of bomb-explosive in underwear

Special to USAfricaonline.com

Photos of the singed underwear that a Nigerian terror suspect allegedly wore to hide explosives in his failed attempt to blow up an airplane over the United States.

The pictures provided by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and obtained by ABC News also showed a packet of powder explosives that had been sewn into the crotch of the undergarment, as well as a charred, partially melted plastic syringe that held a liquid acid to detonate the bomb.

The specially modified, beige-colored briefs allegedly were worn by 23-year-old suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab during his Christmas Day attempt to bring down the Detroit-bound Airbus A330 with 290 people on board.

According to charging documents last week, the bomb stashed inside Abdulmutallab’s underwear contained about 80 grams of the explosive PETN, also known as pentaerythritol.

Authorities said Abdulmutallab was in the process of combining the powder with the liquid in a syringe of acid, which resulted in a series of small explosions in the cabin of the plane and which ignited the suspect’s pants.

Officials believe tragedy was narrowly averted when the makeshift detonator failed to work properly before fellow passengers subdued the would-be bomber.

Law enforcement officials, quoted anonymously by U.S. media, have said the suspect confessed to receiving specific training for the attack from an al-Qaida bombmaker in Yemen.

al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — one of the terror network’s most powerful branches — claimed Monday it was behind the failed bombing and threatened new attacks on the West.

In an Internet posting AQAP said a “technical fault” caused the plot’s failure, SITE Intelligence said.  At a hearing held at a Detroit area hospital over the weekend, an injured Abdulmutallab appeared in a wheel chair, wearing bandages on his hands and wrists and with injuries to his legs. ref: AFP