Accused ‘underwear bomber’ said he worked for al-Qaida
Man charged in Christmas ‘09 airline attack wants to be judged by Koran
A Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 told authorities after being led off the plane that he was working for al-Qaida and later offered up details of his “mission, training and radicalization,” prosecutors said in court documents filed Friday.
In a 20-page filing seeking a judge’s permission to present the statements as evidence at Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s upcoming terrorism trial, the government said Abdulmutallab made incriminating statements to U.S. customs agents after being taken from the plane and to FBI agents a few hours later while being treated for severe burns at a hospital.
Story: Timeline: Umar Abdulmutallab
Abdulmutallab, 24, is accused of trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253, which had nearly 300 people on board, seven minutes before arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport by igniting explosives hidden in his underwear. He is trying to have his statements thrown out because he had not been read his Miranda rights against self-incrimination.