WASHINGTON (AFP) – A young Nigerian has been charged with attempted ****** and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction aboard a US plane, as under-fire security chiefs vow to revamp intelligence services.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was indicted Wednesday by a grand jury on six counts arising from a botched Christmas Day plot to blow up an airliner packed with 279 passengers and 11 crew as it approached Detroit, Michigan.
Michigan district court documents accused him of "carrying a concealed bomb" inside his clothing on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam.
"The bomb consisted of a device containing Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN), Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) and other ingredients," the charge sheet said, adding that both substances were highly explosive.
"The bomb was designed to allow defendant Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to detonate it at a time of his choosing, and to thereby cause an explosion aboard Flight 253," the documents added.
If convicted of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction, Abdulmutallab faces life imprisonment, the Department of Justice said in a statement. The attempted ****** charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, while two charges of possession and use of a firearm or destructive device carry a mandatory 30 years in prison.Related article: Known movements of plane suspect
"This investigation is fast-paced, global and ongoing, and it has already yielded valuable intelligence that we will follow wherever it leads," Attorney General Eric Holder said in the statement.
He vowed that "anyone we find responsible for this alleged ****** will be brought to justice using every tool -- military or judicial -- available to our government."
