By Scott Butterworth and Spencer S. Hsu

DETROIT, December 26, 2009 -- A Nigerian national, claiming to be acting on behalf of al-Qaeda, is in custody in Detroit after allegedly attempting to light an incendiary device aboard a Northwest Airlines flight after it landed Friday, federal officials said.

A White House official said the incident was an attempted act of terrorism. The FBI is investigating and President Obama, celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, was told of the incident about three hours after the plane landed, officials said.

Obama has told White House officials that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel, a spokesman said. Nevertheless, officials said, they are not prepared to raise the terrorism alert level, currently at orange -- or the second-highest of five levels -- for domestic and international air travel.

Federal officials said that the suspect said he was acting on behalf of al-Qaeda. However, the officials added that they are regarding that claim with great caution and will be investigating the claim thoroughly.

Minor injuries were reported aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers from Amsterdam.

The 23-year-old suspect lighted a powdery substance as the aircraft was preparing for landing, around noon, a federal counterterrorism official said. Two other passengers on the flight noticed, and a third person jumped on the man, the official said.

A spokeswoman with Delta Air Lines, which is merging with Northwest, told the Associated Press the passenger was immediately subdued after trying to light what were initially believed to be firecrackers.

A man who said he was on Flight 253, Syed Jafry of Holland, Mich., told the Detroit Free Press that he heard "a pop and saw some smoke and fire." Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him."

Jafry said there was a little bit of commotion for about 10 to 15 minutes.

One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice told the Detroit Free Press. She would not say what the injuries were.

CNN reported that the suspect was taken to a hospital to be treated for burns.

Although the device was originally described as firecrackers, investigators believe the material was actually part of an incendiary device, the counterterrorism official said. That distinction from an explosive would limit the potential impact to the aircraft's structure and the lethality to passengers, and also provide a possible clue as to whether it should have been detected by existing explosives detection equipment.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said Obama was told of the incident between 2 and 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. The president convened a secure conference call with counterterrorism and homeland security adviser John Brennan and National Security Council chief of staff Denis McDonough, Burton said.

Staff writers Anne E. Kornblut, Carrie Johnson and Sholnn Freeman contributed to this report.

Source: The Washington Post

Home | Contact us | Links | Archives | Search