The United States has said that the
Nigerian terrorist, Umar Abdulmutallab, failed to successfully carry out
a bomb attack in 2009 because the explosives he was wired with became
‘degraded’ after he wore the same pair of underpants for two weeks.
Abdulmutallab had, at the age of 23,
confessed to and convicted of attempting to detonate plastic explosives
hidden in his underwear while aboard a Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en
route from Amsterdam to Michigan, US on December 25, 2009.
However, United States officials
explained that the bomb failed to detonate aboard the flight, which was
carrying nearly 300 people, but caused a brief fire that caused burns to
his groin.
He was sentenced to life without parole
in February 2012 after he pleaded guilty to all charges on the second
day of his trial the previous October.
The U.S. Head of the Transportation
Security Administration, John Pistole, said during the week that the
bomb failed to detonate because of how long Abdulmutallab had been
wearing his underwear.
Pistole said, “The bomber had had the device with him for over two weeks.”
When he was then asked whether the bomb
had become ‘damp’ Pistole replied that the explosive had become damp due
to the length of days Abdulmutallab carried the device in his
underwear.
During his trial, Abdulmutallab said the
bomb in his underwear was a ‘blessed weapon’ to avenge poorly treated
Muslims around the world.
However, after the bomb failed to
detonate, passengers pounced on Abdulmutallab and forced him to the
front of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 where he was held until the plane
landed minutes later.
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