Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab faces eight charges, including terrorism
Detroit, USA - Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab accused of trying to bomb a US-bound flight on Christmas Day 2009 has told his trial in Detroit that he is pleading guilty to all charges.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, told a judge he was admitting all eight counts against him, including terrorism and attempted murder. Abdulmutallab was badly burned when a bomb sewn into his underwear failed to detonate fully, prosecutors say. Almost 300 people were on the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Abdulmutallab will be sentenced on 12 January 2012 and Abdulmutallab will spend the rest of his life in prison. US Federal Judge Nancy Edmunds verified that Abdulmutallab understood his right to silence before asking him if he wished to make a plea.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told the court the bomb was a "blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims".
Abdulmutallab will be sentenced on 12 January 2012 and Abdulmutallab will spend the rest of his life in prison. US Federal Judge Nancy Edmunds verified that Abdulmutallab understood his right to silence before asking him if he wished to make a plea.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told the court the bomb was a "blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims".
"The US should be warned that if they continue to kill and support those who kill innocent Muslims, then the US should await a great calamity... or God will strike them directly," he said.
US Attorney General Eric Holder welcomed the guilty plea, saying it showed the courts were "one of the most effective tools we have to fight terrorism."
US Attorney General Eric Holder welcomed the guilty plea, saying it showed the courts were "one of the most effective tools we have to fight terrorism."
Abdulmutallab flew from Nigeria to Amsterdam, where he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 to Detroit, which was carrying 279 passengers and 11 crew. He was already on a US watch list, but not a no-fly list. Passengers had to put out the fire after the bomb failed to detonate fully, the court heard on Monday.
Abdulmutallab's father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, an influential banker who is well connected in Nigerian politics, said he had approached the US embassy officials and Nigerian authorities in 2009 to warn them about his son.
Abdulmutallab was denied a request to ban statements he made while being treated for burns at a hospital, as well as other material, from appearing at trial.
During the first day of his trial, on Monday, prosecutor Jonathan Tukel showed the court a picture of the remains of the burnt underwear which contained the explosive device.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analysts found the high explosive pentaerythritol (PETN) inside the device. Officials say he planned to detonate it using a syringe filled with chemicals.
The bomb was not detected when Abdulmutallab passed through airport security in Lagos and Amsterdam. The court was also shown a video of Abdulmutallab explaining his suicide mission.
Abdulmutallab's father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, an influential banker who is well connected in Nigerian politics, said he had approached the US embassy officials and Nigerian authorities in 2009 to warn them about his son.
Abdulmutallab was denied a request to ban statements he made while being treated for burns at a hospital, as well as other material, from appearing at trial.
During the first day of his trial, on Monday, prosecutor Jonathan Tukel showed the court a picture of the remains of the burnt underwear which contained the explosive device.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analysts found the high explosive pentaerythritol (PETN) inside the device. Officials say he planned to detonate it using a syringe filled with chemicals.
The bomb was not detected when Abdulmutallab passed through airport security in Lagos and Amsterdam. The court was also shown a video of Abdulmutallab explaining his suicide mission.
If he has succeeded 300 innocent people, adults, children, workers, tourists who were on their way to different places would have been blown up. Yet Abdulmutallab showed no remorse. He justified his actions by referencing the wider complaints of the Muslim world against US and Israeli policy.
There is still widespread confusion as to why a highly educated young Nigerian from a wealthy background who had the opportunity to do anything he wanted with his life would choose to embark on a suicide mission aimed at killing several hundred strangers.
About AQAP
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is based in Yemen, said it was behind the attack on 25 December 2009. US investigators have said Abdulmutallab told them he was working for AQAP and had received the bomb from them, as well as training. US and Yemeni officials have linked Abdulmutallab to radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, whom he is said to have met while in Yemen before the attack.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was formed in January 2009 by a merger between al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is based in eastern Yemen and led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi, a Yemeni former aide to Osama Bin Laden. Deputy leader is Saudi ex-Guantanamo inmate Said al-Shihri.
The group aims to topple Saudi monarchy and Yemeni government, and establish an Islamic caliphate and they came to prominence with Riyadh bombings in 2003, and 2008 attack on US embassy in Sanaa.
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