Detroit jet bomb suspect Abdulmutallab ’shown in video’
April 27, 2010
Video has emerged which appears to show the alleged Christmas Day Detroit plane bomber attending a desert training camp run by al-Qaeda in Yemen.
The video released by ABC News shows a man resembling Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab firing a rifle and making a “martyrdom” statement to camera.
Gunmen are shown firing at British, UN and Israeli flags or symbols.
Mr Abdulmutallab has been in US custody since being overpowered by passengers as he allegedly tried to blow up a jet.
A US intelligence official said the preliminary judgment was that the person in the video was indeed Mr Abdulmutallab, the Associated Press news agency reports.
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CHARGES AGAINST SUSPECT
 Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction
Attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US
Wilful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft
Wilfully placing a destructive device in or near an aircraft which was likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft
Two counts of possession of a firearm, ie the bomb, in furtherance of violent crime
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The footage was consistent with the understanding that he was in training, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
ABC News says the video was produced by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
In the footage, the man resembling Mr Abdulmutallab accuses “the Jews and the Christians and their agents” of occupying Muslim lands, and says Muslims have the right to wage jihad (holy war) on them.
He also reads out several passages of the Koran.
Mr Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, received burns from the bomb allegedly hidden in his underwear but nobody else was injured during the alleged attempt to bomb Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit.
The suspect subsequently denied charges which included attempting to murder 289 people and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.
He is said to be co-operating with US investigators, discussing his contacts in Yemen and providing intelligence in multiple terrorism investigations.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
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