Northwest passenger who tried to blow up Detroit-bound flight linked to al-Qaida

[Dion]

DETROIT - A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida's instructions, set off an explosive device Friday in a failed terrorist attack on the plane as it was landing in Detroit, federal officials said.

"It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase," said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. "First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke."

At least one passenger acted heroically.

Smith said the passenger, sitting opposite the man, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.

One U.S. intelligence official said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

U.S. Rep. Peter King, ranking Republican member of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...er_disturbance

[Devils'Advocate]

I guess it's hard to find competent suicide bombers these days.

[Sliver]

I'm surprised it's so hard to do. What are your thoughts on this, Dion?

[PIMking]

I would of beaten that dude to death or unless someone pulled me off of him. No son of a bitch is going to kill me on Christmas.

[Machiavelli]

My parents are freaking out over this....it's hilarious.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by PIMking

I would of beaten that dude to death or unless someone pulled me off of him. No son of a bitch is going to kill me on Christmas.

Sounds like the other passenger beat the living shat out of him.

[HOZ]

Oh, oh....

More random checks of old grannies.

[HotHotHeat]

I guess I'll have to trade in that 100 mL tube of toothpaste for a 65 mL one.

[Traditional_Ale]

This is why I love driving whenever I can. I'd rather spend two days driving than go through airport security. That and I can have smoke breaks whenever I want. And I'm not stuck next to an anorexic satan worshiper telling me all about the end of the world, or some 500-pound hamburger pounding behemoth slobbering everywhere as he drools out his airline food while farting, burping, and probably pooping a little although they're so fat they can't tell.

Yup...driving rules!

[sec304]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I guess it's hard to find competent suicide bombers these days.

Well you can only use the good one's once

[bcb]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

This is why I love driving whenever I can. I'd rather spend two days driving than go through airport security. That and I can have smoke breaks whenever I want. And I'm not stuck next to an anorexic satan worshiper telling me all about the end of the world, or some 500-pound hamburger pounding behemoth slobbering everywhere as he drools out his airline food while farting, burping, and probably pooping a little although they're so fat they can't tell.

Yup...driving rules!

Airplane food?!?, where did YOU get airplane food?

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I guess it's hard to find competent suicide bombers these days.

All the good ones have retired.

[PyramidsofMars]

how stupid and sad a human being do you have to be to:

a) want to blow yourself up in the name of a character from a really old fairytale, on a flight landing in freakin' Detroit of all places
b) actually fail to set off a simple explosive

?

[algernon]

Originally Posted by drewboy12

you sir... are an idiot

Excellent contribution. Are you fat or anorexic?

I wonder how badly the would-be bomber got his ass beaten. I'm kind of surprised they didn't literally tear him apart, with the fervor over terrorists in the states.

[Machiavelli]

He's the son of some rich Nigerian banker.

[Ducay]

Glad I just got back from my vacation to the states last week. Im happy I'll miss whatever extra bum-raping the TSA is going to be dolling out

[Buzzard]

Here we go, this'll stop the bad guys . Super security has begun!!

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/em...565/story.html

[Dion]

Chopra said she had seen the man just before the flight took off, because she was standing nearby. She said he looked worried.

"He had his hands on his forehead, and he was thinking very hard. I thought there was something wrong. He was the last person to get on the plane. I was also one of the last ones because I was flying standby."

Chopra said she heard what sounded like gun shots coming from the front of the economy class section, and then looked back and saw the man on fire. A group of three passengers grabbed the burning man and tried to extinguish the flames. She said they asked passengers to pass over their water bottles to put out the fire.

"I was a bit sick, so I had four or five water bottles with me," said Chopra, who was visiting family in India. "The men started screaming, 'Water! Water!' so I gave all my bottles to them."

She said the men restraining the man threw him on the floor, jumped on him and tried to put out the flames with their hands, and then with water bottles.

"They burned their hands," she said.

Flight attendants finally grabbed fire extinguishers and doused the flames. The man was tied up and taken into the first class section. Chopra said it took between seven and eight minutes to put out the fire.

"He was very quiet after that. He didn't say much, but he was alive."

She said there was sheer panic in the cabin as all of this happened.
"Everyone was screaming, and the pilots were pleading with people to please stay in their seats."

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Wo...630/story.html

[Dion]

Then there was smoke. That's when Schuringa said he knew something was terribly wrong.

When he noticed that Abdulmutallab was not moving, he grew suspect. He jumped over the passenger next to him and lunged over Abdulmutallab's seat.

Schuringa said he saw that Abdulmutallab had his pants open and he was holding a burning object between his legs.

"I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," Schuringa said.

He said he managed to pull an object tucked between Abdulmutallab's legs.

Schuringa said he stripped off Abdulmutallab's clothes to make sure he did not have other explosives on his body. A crew member helped handcuff him.

"My hands are pretty burned. I am fine," he said. "I am shaken up. I am happy to be here."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/26/...ack/index.html

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by algernon

Excellent contribution. Are you fat or anorexic?

I wonder how badly the would-be bomber got his ass beaten. I'm kind of surprised they didn't literally tear him apart, with the fervor over terrorists in the states.

There isn't fervor over terrorism outside of the US?