Failed NWA bomber previously included in terror watch list

The Home Secretary has verified that the Nigerian man who tried to blow up the Northwest Airlines (NWA) plane on Christmas Day was on a terror watch list, banning him from entering the UK.

Alan Johnson said that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had been included on the record after he was denied for a student visa. He further told BBC Radio 4 that the Nigerian native is now only allowed to pass through the UK for transit.

Johnson also warned that the alleged bomber do not act alone. Currently, police officials are investigating possible links between al Qaeda and Abdulmutallab, who was overpowered by crew and air passengers after he failed to set off the explosive device.

The 23-year-old man, charged with an attempt to destroy NWA Flight 253 as the plane tried to land in Detroit Airport from Amsterdam, had appeared before a federal court yesterday.

On Sunday, Flight 253 suffered another mishap when the plane officer radioed for emergency backing before landing in Detroit. Again, a Nigerian traveller was arrested after he locked himself in the lavatory. US law officials later found that the man had fallen sick and the incident was not a security threat.

Meanwhile, US President Barrack Obama had called a major security re-evaluation after finding out that Abdulmutallab had previously been placed on the database of suspected terrorists. US politicians had also criticised the ease of screening air travellers, resulting in the suspected bomber to carry the explosive substance PETN on board without even detected.

For the meantime, several UK travellers are currently experiencing delays of at least three hours for their US-bound flights.