Wealthy, quiet, unassuming: the Christmas Day bomb suspect

[alienlovechild 75]

With his wealth, privilege and education at one of Britain's leading universities, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab had the world at his feet – able to choose from a range of futures in which to make his mark on the world.

Instead, the son of one of Nigeria's most important figures opted to make his impact in a very different way – by detonating 80g of explosives sewn into his underpants, and trying to destroy a passenger jet as it came in to land at Detroit Airport on Christmas Day.

Abdulmutallab, 23, had lived a gilded life, and, for the three years he studied in London, he stayed in a £2m flat. He was from a very different background to many of the other al-Qa'ida recruits who opt for martyrdom.

Abdulmutallab's father, Umaru, is the former economics minister of Nigeria. He retired earlier this month as the chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria but is still on the boards of several of Nigeria's biggest firms, including Jaiz International, a holding company for the Islamic Bank. The 70-year-old, who was also educated in London, holds the Commander of the Order of the Niger as well as the Italian Order of Merit.

Dr Mutallab said he was planning to meet with police in Nigeria last night after realising his son had joined the notorious roster of al-Qa'ida terrorists, and is said to have warned the US authorities about his son's extreme views six months ago.

Police in London were collaborating with the American-led investigation into the would-be bomber. Scotland Yard detectives were searching his flat and two others in the same mansion block in Marylebone, central London. They later cordoned off the street lined with Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Mercedes cars. Police were also understood to be searching the basement of the building.

Abdulmutallab was reportedly on a security watch list, but those who studied with him expressed shock that the person who seemed so quiet and unassuming – a devout Muslim but not radical – apparently came close to perpetrating a Christmas Day massacre.

Fabrizio Cavallo Marincola, 22, who studied mechanical engineering beside Abdulmutallab – nicknamed Biggie – at University College London, said that he graduated in May 2008 and showed no signs of radicalisation or of links to al-Qa'ida. "We worked on projects together," he said. "He always did the bare minimum of work and would just show up to classes. When we were studying, he always would go off to pray.

"He was pretty quiet and didn't socialise much or have a girlfriend that I knew of. I didn't get to talk to him much on a personal level. I was really shocked when I saw the reports. You would never imagine him pulling off something like this."

After graduating, Abdulmutallab tried to return to Britain but his visa request was refused. He applied to return for a six-month course, but was barred by the UK Border Agency which judged that the college he applied to was "not genuine".

Mr Schuringa, who was due to connect in Detroit to a Miami flight for a Christmas holiday, said of the suspect: "He was shaking. He didn't resist anything. It's just hard to believe that he was trying to blow up this plane. He was in a trance. He was very afraid."

The high explosive Abdulmutallab used was identified by the FBI as Pentaerythritol, better known as PETN – a major component of Semtex. He injected a detonating liquid into the PETN with a syringe, but the bomb failed to explode.

The revelation of Abdulmutallab's background has confounded terror experts. Dr Magnus Ranstorp of the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College said that the attempted bombing "didn't square".

"On the one hand, it seems he's been on the terror watch list but not on the no-fly list," he said. "That doesn't square because the American Department for Homeland Security has pretty stringent data-mining capability. I don't understand how he had a valid visa if he was known on the terror watch list.

"Why didn't he go to the toilets to detonate the bomb? Why would he try to set it off 20 minutes before he's going to land? It could probably have been successful had the person not been amateurish. I think this is a sign that it's much more difficult now for al-Qa'ida to pull off something serious."

Nigerian newspapers reported that Abdulmutallab's father, who lives in Katsina, Nigeria, had informed the US embassy of his son's activities because he had become so concerned about his religious views.

A source said Dr Mutallab was "devastated" at the news but also "surprised" his son had been allowed to travel after he had reported him to the authorities. Abdulmutallab had allegedly become noted for his extreme religious views when he was at the British International School in Togo, where he is said to have preached Islam to his friends.

An official briefing on the attack said the US had known for at least two years that the suspect could have terrorist ties. Abdulmutallab has been on a list that included people with known or suspected contacts or ties to a terrorist or terrorist organisation. The list is maintained by the US National Counterterrorism Center and includes about 550,000 names.

Abdulmutallab also smuggled the explosives through security at Schiphol airport, the connecting point for the flight from Nigeria. "There were no irregularities at the security check," an official for the National Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism said. "It cannot be excluded that potentially dangerous items were brought on board, especially objects that cannot be read by current technology."

The failed attempt to blow up flight 253 as it came in to land at Detroit airport is the latest in an ominous pattern of terror attacks that have emerged from, or have been attempted in, the United Kingdom over the past few years.

Dr Sally Leivesley, a leading terror expert who advises governments and businesses, said yesterday there have been several incidents where detonators have failed to ignite devices, with a major terror attack averted through luck or human error.

They include Richard Reid, who was overpowered on a transatlantic flight as he attempted to detonate a bomb hidden in his shoe; the failed attacks on London transport of July 2005 which came two weeks after the 7/7 bombings; the attempted attack on Glasgow airport in August 2007; the discovery of two cars packed with gas and petrol in London the day before the Glasgow attack; and an incident in Exeter in 2008 when a man failed to detonate a device in a café's toilets.

"The bomber suffered third-degree burns on his leg," Dr Leivesley said. "It's possible that a part of the explosive was hidden either inside the inner thigh or wrapped over that area with skins. With baggy clothing, it could be missed during a search, as could a syringe hidden in the groin. There are no metal components involved, so it wouldn't trigger a security device. He would then use the syringe to inject a liquid which would detonate the explosive."

Another significant factor is the report that the bomber was an engineering student at University College London. Dr Leivesley said that al-Qa'ida was recruiting people with engineering qualifications as well as highly placed scientists, particularly in the nuclear field.

"Al-Qa'ida is finding it difficult to recruit young people," she said. "And, interestingly, the election of Barack Obama is a factor in that, because, whatever you think of him as a president, the fact of him shows young people that there is an alternative to killing yourself. Al-Qa'ida is, however, targeting more highly skilled people."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/am...ct-1851090.html

[Danno 1,228]

What I want to know is why is it many people right here have trouble getting a visa for their family or friends to visit the USA.... and this guy who is on a terrorist watch-list (after his father called and reported him as dangerous) gets a visa?

If this turns out to be true, this would be another stunning (and alarming) example of big clumsy government, which despite all the billions spent, is still not covering even the basics.

Obama needs to fire some hi-up folks if this guy really got a Visa.

It's unbelievable that our best defense was a tourist.... 5 rows back.

[Dakine 26]

The guy is rich. Basically makes it a cake walk to get a visa if you are loaded no matter what country you're from.

Hard to imagine people with LOTS of money blowing there azz up. Heck they can buy the 27 virgins.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Well from what I read is that he had a visa since June or July 2008 to June/July 2010... and that his father just tipped the US 6 months ago....

so if this is true, doesnt this imply hes been planning something since 2008 and not just 6 months ago???

[Danno 1,228]

The guy is rich. Basically makes it a cake walk to get a visa if you are loaded no matter what country you're from.

Hard to imagine people with LOTS of money blowing there azz up. Heck they can buy the 27 virgins.

I suspect this whole line about suicide bombers being misguided souls from poverty is another myth.

ON the bright side..... I doubt we will see this exact plan again tried.....

I don't care how devoted one is to Islam....

.no one is going to do a bombing that might end up as a - self-administerd "weenie Roast" again!

[Darnell 8,479]

2 comments;

1. data error? geez. gimme a f'ing break.

2. semtex is powerful stuff, a binary explosive (requires mixing of 2 parts, them boom ). glad to know he was inept. Glad he was caught, too.

[justashooter 430]

PETN is a commonly used primary explosive that is often included in detonators for secondary explosives like ANFO. it is fairly sensitive, and has a det velocity adequate to kick off secondarys, but lacks a specific effect that he should have been planning for. 80g would be grams (about 1/6 of a pound), so the bomb would have splattered him all over the place, killed anyone within 30 feet of him, and probably ruptured the hull of the aircraft.

i'm not going to tell you what he did wrong, but remark that he was not as well educated as many people i know who could have succeeded in such an effort. the world is full of professionals who could do this job right, and even a few amateurs like me who could, but we are ususally of the type tending toward order, so would not make suitable candidates for such activities.

thankfully terrorism is usually enacted by men of simple minds following a religion suitable only for children and fools. privelege and education is not a measure of a man, as this case proves. next.

[scandal 951]

This is all obviously Obama's fault.

I mean really, is it any surprise that our AFRICAN (Kenyan) born President is the Commander in Chief when this AFRICAN (Nigerian) terrorist pulled this stunt? Obviously not. Clearly Obama, Pelosi and Reid are behind this plot. It's just a matter of time before it all gets exposed as being their doing. Note that as Bush/Cheney were very fond of telling us, there were no Nigerians trying to blow up airplanes under THEIR watch. Well, so ok, there was that one itty bitty incident with Richard Reid trying to light his shoes on fire. But that was different - he was a Brit.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

This is all obviously Obama's fault.

I mean really, is it any surprise that our AFRICAN (Kenyan) born President is the Commander in Chief when this AFRICAN (Nigerian) terrorist pulled this stunt? Obviously not. Clearly Obama, Pelosi and Reid are behind this plot. It's just a matter of time before it all gets exposed as being their doing. Note that as Bush/Cheney were very fond of telling us, there were no Nigerians trying to blow up airplanes under THEIR watch. Well, so ok, there was that one itty bitty incident with Richard Reid trying to light his shoes on fire. But that was different - he was a Brit.

I'm sure race played a major role in this.

[NickD 203]

WPR is hacking this subject around this morning with a couple of college professors that don't know very much. Someone said that this guy is on the terrorist watch list, but they replied that over a half a million people are on that watch list and many have the very same name. They also speculated that he was carried some new type of sophisticated explosive that the airports are not up to date on. Also some talk that our leaders are shocked that the trillions of dollars spend on airport security is not working.

All I know is that on our last return trip from Bogota, my wife purchased a 4 oz bottle of some kind of El Stinkum from the duty free shop that we had no access to our luggage to store it in. I had a hell of time bringing that aboard, show my veterans ID card, drivers' license, US passport, receipt from the duty free shop. The bottle was sealed in the box it came in, also to no avail. So my final plea was to open the package, unscrew the lid and pour out an ounce of this stuff, even on the inspector if he wanted to smell good for the ladies. He finally said, just put it in your pocket, no problem after that.

And we don't even come close to approximating the profile of these terrorists, but not sure this guy....

matches that profile either. Could have just been teed off because he was denied a US visa that rises other questions, how was he even able to board the plane?

They sure in the hell stripped searched the hell of my wife when she first came here, a 5' 3" 120 pound green eyed red head that doesn't even come close to the profile for terrorists. I still get pissed off whenever I think about that and left her luggage in shambles. Was just last year I convinced her to pitch it and buy all brand new stuff.

And those 19 terrorist responsible for 9/11 all came here legally? Also get pissed off flying back from Canada with over 3,500 miles of unprotected borders. A terrorist would be a complete idiot to attempt to come in via the airlines. But our leaders, as dumb and as stupid as they are, are making the rules and we have to abide by them.

[justashooter 430]

They also speculated that he was carried some new type of sophisticated explosive that the airports are not up to date on. Also some talk that our leaders are shocked that the trillions of dollars spend on airport security is not working.

i'm not gonna explain why he got past security. people who understand PETN　ａｌｒｅａｄｙ　ｋｎｏｗ．

[NickD 203]

i'm not gonna explain why he got past security. people who understand PETN　ａｌｒｅａｄｙ　ｋｎｏｗ．

Was always far more interested in building stuff rather them blowing stuff up, so this stuff is foreign to me. Looking up PETN, found this.

"PETN's preparation involves the nitration of pentaerythritol with a mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acid. The preferred method of nitration is the ICI method, which utilizes concentrated nitric acid (98%+) alone, as mixed acid can create unstable sulfonated by-products. C(CH₂OH)₄ + 4 HNO₃ → C(CH₂ONO₂)₄ + 4 H₂O"See I have nitric and sulfuric acid in my workshop, the nitric for cleaning, the sulfuric for lead acid batteries.

Also see that "

Pentaerythritol can be prepared by condensation of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde in a basic environment.^[2] The process occurs by successive aldol reactions followed by a Cannizzaro reaction. Impurities include dipentaerythritol and tripentaerythritol.^[3]

2 CH₃CHO + 8 CH₂O + Ca(OH)₂ → 2 C(CH₂OH)₄ + (HCOO)₂Ca"Formaldehyde is readily available, acetaldehyde can be formed by oxidizing ethanol, the latter very easy to obtain. Gee, all a guy has to do is to go on the internet for a few minutes. But it sounds like this nut did a good job of frying his legs. Talking to my wife about driving down to Bogota, but then warned about the bandits. Can't win.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

The guy is rich. Basically makes it a cake walk to get a visa if you are loaded no matter what country you're from.

Hard to imagine people with LOTS of money blowing there azz up. Heck they can buy the 27 virgins.

Religion is a powerful thing.

[justashooter 430]

Was always far more interested in building stuff rather them blowing stuff up, so this stuff is foreign to me. Looking up PETN, found this.

it's a bit more complicated than that, nick. process control is a big part of what this guy got wrong. let's leave it at that.

[NickD 203]

it's a bit more complicated than that, nick. process control is a big part of what this guy got wrong. let's leave it at that.

All I know is when I work with the acids, a special mask, rubber apron, gloves, full face shield. I don't even want to think about putting that stuff in my underwear.

If what happened to this guy what I think did, he won't have any use for virgins. Or at least they will stay that way.