23-year-old Nigerian man charged with terror attempting

Probes into an attempted bombing on a trans-Atlantic flight are underway in the United States. A Nigerian man who claimed to have ties to al-Qaida has been charged with trying to destroy the airliner on Christmas Day.

FBI officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is now being treated for extensive burns at this hospital in Michigan.

On Saturday, US Justice Department said the 23-year-old was charged with attempting to blow up the plane by lighting an explosive device that was attached to his body.

Peggy Egar, Reporter of President at Suspect's Arraignment, said, "At one point they asked if he could afford his own attorney or if he needed counsel to be appointed to him and took a little while to explain it to him what that meant. But he said he did not have funds and that he could not afford his own attorney."

Preliminary FBI analysis found that the explosive device contained PETN, also known as pentaerythritol.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the Detroit bound Delta Airlines plane on Christmas day, is shown in this undated photograph released to Reuters on December 26, 2009. REUTERS