U.S. officials are investigating a Somali man’s alleged attempt to board a flight last month carrying chemicals, liquid and a syringe in a case bearing chilling echoes of the plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.
Terrorism analysts said the arrest in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, could prove highly valuable for the Detroit investigation if the incidents turn out to be linked.
The Somali was arrested by African Union peacekeeping troops Nov. 13 before boarding the Daallo Airlines plane bound for the northern Somali city of Hargeisa, then Djibouti and Dubai.
“We don’t know whether he’s linked with al-Qaida or other foreign organizations, but his actions were the acts of a terrorist. We caught him red-handed,” said a Somali police spokesman, Abdulahi Hassan Barise.
A Nairobi-based diplomat said the incident has similarities to the attempted attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in that the Somali was said to have a syringe, liquid and powdered chemicals — tools similar to those used by the Nigerian suspect on the Detroit-bound plane. The diplomat spoke on condition he not be identified because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.
Source/Full Story: Yahoo! News
Related Items
- December 29, 2009 — TSA Looks to Expand Use of Full-Body Scanners at U.S. Airports (0)
The Transportation Security Administration is looking to increase the number of full-body scanners at U.S. airports over the next few years as it revi… - December 30, 2009 — Dutch, Nigerians to use full body scans for air travelers (0)
The Netherlands and Nigeria will begin using body scanners on airline passengers following the attempted terrorist attack on a U.S.-bound flight on Ch… - December 29, 2009 — Israeli nuclear whistleblower under house arrest (0)
Mordechai Vanunu, who served 18 years in prison after he revealed Israel’s secret nuclear programme, has been placed under house arrest pending crimin… - December 9, 2009 — Hate Crimes: Black Gangs Vented Hatred For Whites In Downtown Attacks (0)
Black gangs roaming downtown Denver often vented their hatred for white victims before assaulting and robbing them during a four-month crime wave, acc… - December 9, 2009 — General Stanley McChrystal: Bin Laden capture key to U.S. efforts (0)
The U.S. general in charge of the war in Afghanistan says capturing Osama bin Laden is the ultimate key to defeating the al-Qaida terror network.Gen. …
