The 23-year-old Abdul Farouk Abdul Mutallab got on the plane in Amsterdam on Dec. 25 with a device containing an explosive, pentaerythritol, apparently hidden in his underwear. According to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, he pulled a blanket over himself while in flight, claiming he had a stomachache, after spending about 20 minutes in the bathroom. Concealed from the eyes of his fellow passengers, he then secretly ignited the explosive by using a syringe filled with a chemical designed to cause a reaction.
Noises similar to bursting up a balloon were heard afterwards, with some passengers reportedly seeing the lower part of his body on fire, but the device failed to detonate.
The suspect is a son of an influential Nigerian banker Alhaji Umaru Mutallab. Mr. Mutallab said to the Nigerian media that he lost contact with his son in October, when his son decided to travel to Yemen.
The Nigerian media quoted the suspect’s brother as saying that Abdul Mutallab developed extreme views about religion during the study at a prestigious British International School in Lome, the capital of the western African country Togo.
“We know Farouk’s extreme views and were always apprehensive of where it may lead him to,” his brother told the Nigerian newspaper This Day.
After completing his study at the University College London in 2008, his parents sent him to do post-graduate studies in Dubai, his family members revealed to BBC.
However, Abdul Mutallab abandoned his course of study, saying that he had found alternative studies in Yemen. He later discontinued contact with his family, and his father decided to travel to Yemen to bring him back. At that point, the father also contacted U.S. and Nigerian authorities, informing them of the extremist views his son had.
As a consequence, Abdul Mutallab’s name was entered in the U.S. terrorism database, but he didn’t yet appear on the “no fly” list.
Al-Qaeda’s resurgence in Yemen has raised concerns in the U.S. government, which has put constant pressure on the Yemeni government to take stronger actions against the group. Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama Bin Laden, has been an ideal place for jihadists, as its rocky mountains are well suited to guerrilla bases and training camps.
In October 2000, a suicide bomber linked to al-Qaeda attacked the USS Cole warship docked in the Yemeni port, killing 17 American sailors. As reported by the Associated Press, one of the masterminds of the bombing was set free after pledging loyalty to the Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Salih.
On Sep. 17, 2008, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.S. embassy in the Yemen capital, Sana'a, resulting in 19 deaths. Attackers, camouflaged as policemen, had assailed the building with automatic rifles and grenades.
The Yemeni army launched two attacks on the al-Qaeda bases on Dec. 17 and Dec. 24, allegedly killing dozens of militants.
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