underwear bomber

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Man Behind 2009 Underwear Bomb Plot May Be Dead

Ibrahim al-Asiri may have been killed last year

(Newser) - One of al-Qaeda's master bombmakers may have been killed in Yemen last year, according to a UN report . If Ibrahim al-Asiri—who was believed to have been involved in an unsuccessful 2009 plot to blow up an aircraft over Detroit on Christmas Day with an underwear bomb —is...

Underwear Bomber Likens Treatment to 'Being Drowned'

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is suing over treatment in Supermax

(Newser) - The Nigerian man who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound jet with an underwear bomb is suing the US Justice Department, claiming he's been force-fed, punished for being Muslim, and held in solitary confinement inside Colorado's Supermax prison, all in violation of his constitutional rights. Upon his arrival...

'Wait Until You Are in the US, Then Bring the Plane Down'

Documents obtained by 'NYT' show US-born cleric's mentoring of underwear bomber

(Newser) - “Wait until you are in the US, then bring the plane down.” Those were the final words of advice from US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before the latter tried to set off a bomb aboard a jet in 2009. The device fizzled and...

TSA Chief: Bad Hygiene 'Degraded' Underwear Bomb

Would-be bomber wore it for weeks, and it apparently got damp

(Newser) - You likely remember the failed underwear bomb aboard a 2009 flight to Detroit that sent Umar Abdulmutallab to prison for life . What you may not know: The plot seems to have failed thanks in part to lousy hygiene. In a panel discussion yesterday, TSA chief John Pistole said Abdulmutallab had...

Al-Qaeda May Have Invented Explosive Clothing: Report

From same guy behind the underwear bomb

(Newser) - From the mastermind behind the underwear bomb , US officials now fear a new couture-based weapon: clothes dipped in liquid explosives. ABC News says senior government officials heard about the potential new threat at a briefing on yesterday's embassy closures . Two officials present at the meeting say the explosive clothes...

Bomb-Plot Busting Double-Agent Is British

CIA not happy about this leak

(Newser) - Another tantalizing—and potentially damaging—tidbit has leaked about the double-agent who foiled an al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula underwear bomb plot. The agent is of Saudi descent but lived for years in Britain, where he spent some time with jihadist sympathizers and acquired a British passport, sources tell CNN...

Al-Qaeda Bomb Was Sewn Into 'Custom-Fit' Underwear

It could be detonated in two ways, official tells 'NYT'

(Newser) - We now know that a Saudi double-agent managed to get his hands on a non-metallic bomb that was designed by al-Qaeda to slip past metal detectors—and a number of US officials aren't too happy about said revelation. Though the AP held the story for a few days, the...

Double-Agent Infiltrated al-Qaeda to Foil Bomb Plot

Was working with CIA when he got device

(Newser) - Looks like a nice coup for the CIA: The agency and its counterpart in Saudi Arabia teamed up to fool the Yemen branch of al-Qaeda with a double-agent, reports the Los Angeles Times . The infiltrator convinced the group to give him a newly designed non-metallic bomb so he could attempt...

Underwear Bomber Gets Life in Prison

No surprise after guilty plea

(Newser) - A Nigerian man on a suicide mission for al-Qaeda was sentenced today to life in prison for attempting to blow up an international flight with a bomb in his underwear as the plane approached Detroit on Christmas 2009. The mandatory punishment for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the well-educated son of a...

No-Fly List Has Doubled to 21K Since Last Year

New standards imposed after attempted 'underwear bombing'

(Newser) - One year ago, the US no-fly list was at about 10,000 names; today, it has more than doubled to around 21,000. The list has been growing at a quick clip ever since the failed Christmas 2009 "underwear bomber" plot , after which the government lowered the standards required...

Underwear Bomber Changes Plea to Guilty

But is unrepentant, calling jihad one of 'the most virtuous acts'

(Newser) - Today was supposed to be the second day of testimony in the trial of alleged “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, but instead the 25-year-old Nigerian unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty on all counts, the Detroit Free Press reports. The defiant would-be terrorist read a statement to the court...

FBI Links Top al-Qaeda Bombmaker to Two US Plots

Fingerprint, forensics link Ibrahim al-Asiri to underwear bomber, cargo bombs

(Newser) - The FBI has now definitively linked top al-Qaeda bombmaker Ibrahim al-Asiri to a trio of explosives used in two recent attempts to attack the US, via a fingerprint and forensic evidence. Al-Asiri, who works in Yemen with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was already suspected of being involved with the...

Feds Dial Back Miranda Rights for Terror Suspects

New rules allow terrorists to be questioned longer

(Newser) - The Obama administration has issued new rules allowing law enforcement to hold terror suspects longer than other alleged criminals without reading them their Miranda rights, the Wall Street Journal reports. The change, which is to be used when investigators “conclude that continued unwarned interrogation” is needed “to collect...

Why Underwear Bomber Flew to Detroit: Cheap Fares

Shows break from bin Laden's love of symbolic targets

(Newser) - With 25% of its own residents fleeing Detroit, it might seem like the would-be underwear bomber could have picked a more devastating US target than Motor City. But, as the AP has learned, airplane tickets to considered destinations Chicago or Houston were just too darn expensive, so Umar Farouk...

A Single Tip Now Lands You on Terror Watch List
A Single Tip Now Lands
You on Terror Watch List
THANKS, UNDERWEAR BOMBER
Dec 30, 2010 12:22 PM CST

A Single Tip Now Lands You on Terror Watch List

Officials change criteria in Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's wake

(Newser) - Be careful: The feds learned a lesson from the underwear bomber , and now all it takes is a single tip to land you on the terrorist watch list. Concerns were raised after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab wasn’t placed on the list, despite his father informing US officials of his son’...

Here's What the Terrorists Are Plotting
 Here's What 
 the Terrorists 
 Are Plotting 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 6, 2010 8:08 AM CDT

Here's What the Terrorists Are Plotting

Recent bomb scares give insight into their plan

(Newser) - The Yemen-based mail bomb plot offers new insight into what, exactly, terrorists are planning next. Aviation expert Clive Irving runs down their apparent plan in the Daily Beast :
  • The goal: Blow up a plane over a major US city.
  • The location: Most likely over “the great urban sprawl along
...

Cargo Bomber 'Aiming for Another Lockerbie'

Officials hunt al-Qaeda suspect who blew up his own brother

(Newser) - Security forces around the world believe Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri—an al-Qaeda fighter who once blew up his own brother—is the mastermind behind the bombs, and was plotting a "new Lockerbie" with his cargo plane explosives, reports the Telegraph . Both devices found on cargo craft traveled for a time...

Terror Suspect Busted at Dutch Airport

Brits tip off cops about suspect flying from Liverpool

(Newser) - A Somali-born British terrorism suspect from Liverpool was busted in Amsterdam as he sat on a plane waiting to fly to Uganda. Dutch security swooped in after a tip from British authorities. He is suspected of involvement with an unspecified foreign terror organization, reports the Guardian . It wasn't immediately clear...

Accused Underwear Bomber Fires Lawyer

Abdulmutallab asks about entering guilty plea

(Newser) - The man accused of trying to blow up a passenger plane over Detroit with a bomb in his briefs has fired his lawyers and may be preparing to plead guilty. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, making his first court appearance since January, asked for and received permission to ditch his court-appointed lawyers...

Radical Cleric's Dad Sues Over CIA Kill List

Suit challenges CIA's power to assassinate an American citizen

(Newser) - The father of Anwar al-Awlaki, the Muslim cleric linked to multiple terrorist plots , is suing the US government in an effort to get his son off the CIA’s “capture or kill” list. He’s hired the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights to challenge the CIA’s...

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