Mutallab confessed links to Al Qaeda

A Nigerian man has been charged after attempting to blow up a passenger-packed Delta plane just before arriving at Detroit Airport.

The UK police are now undertaking strict investigations after Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a 23-year-old London student and suspected al Qaeda member, was charged by trying to explode a transatlantic passenger Airbus A330-300 jet. Security sources told Sky News that Mutallab had no previous police record, but UK law enforcers are investigating his upmarket London address and other links.

Mutallab had flown from Lagos to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport using KLM and transferred to Delta’s merger Northwest Airlines for the nine-hour trip to Detroit. He attempted to detonate the bomb which he concealed during transit in a pillow as the Delta aircraft, carrying 278 people onboard, was about to land at the airport. Fortunately, the Nigerian man was overpowered by the cabin crew and passengers after the device failed to function properly.

After being detained, Mutallab confessed to US authorities that he was following instructions from al Qaeda. He later told investigators that he had taped the explosive on his leg.

A spokesman from the University College London confirmed that Mutallab had taken a mechanical engineering course in the university between September 2005 and June 2008. Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, the father of the student, meanwhile said that his son had left London supposedly to attend a religious seminar.

For the meantime, air passengers can expect stricter screening after the US government just ordered airline companies to tighten travel inspection and to lessen carry-on bag allowance.