Attempted airplane bomber charged: U.S. official

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Nigerian man, who has attempted to set off an explosive device on a Delta/Northwest international flight, has been officially charged, said the U.S. Department of Justice on Saturday.

"This alleged attack on a U.S. airplane on Christmas Day shows that we must remain vigilant in the fight against terrorism at all times," said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement.

This picture shows Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Amsterdam on Friday, Dec. 25, 2009. (Xinhua/AP Photo)

"Had this alleged plot to destroy an airplane been successful, scores of innocent people would have been killed or injured," he said.

The suspect was scheduled to make his first appearance in court later on Saturday.

The federal crime complaint came one day after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, failed in setting off an explosive device attached to his body when the Delta/Northwest Flight 253, with 278passengers and 11 crew members on board, was approaching Detroit Metro Airport.

A preliminary analysis by the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed that the device contained PETN, a highly explosive substance. Investigators also found what appear to be the remnants of the syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab's seat, which was believed to have been part of the device.

However, the malfunctioned device caused nothing but some smoke and fire on the suspect. All passengers but two survive without hurt.

Abdulmutallab required medical treatment to his second and third-degree burns, and was transported to the University of Michigan Medical Center after the plane landed, said the Justice Department.

According to the initial investigation, Abdulmutallab departed from Lagos, Nigeria, aboard a KLM flight and took the Delta/Northwest Flight 253, with 278 passengers and 11 crew members on board, at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he did not go through the secondary screening check.

Prior to the incident, Abdulmutallab went to the lavatory for about twenty minutes. After he returned to his seat, he claimed his stomach was upset and asked for a blanket pulled over himself.

Only seconds later, passengers and crew heard popping noise similar to firecrackers and then smell an odor, while Abdulmutallab's legs and the wall of the airplane were seen on fire. They subdued him immediately and put off the flames with fire extinguishers.

The further investigation is still conducted by the FBI, US Customs and Border Protection, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

U.S. authorities earlier confirmed that Abdulmutallab's name was not on the "no-fly" list but showed up in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment that includes people with known or suspected contact or ties to a terrorist or terrorist organization.

A separate report said that Abdulmutallab's father, a banker in Lagos, reported to the U.S. embassy in Nigeria his son's radical views and possible activities several weeks before the incident.

During the investigation, the suspect claimed that he had ties with al-Qaeda and received the material and instruction to make an explosive device from members of the terrorist group in Yemen.

However, the FBI officials believed that he was just acting alone and did not officially belong to any organized terrorist groups.