Terrorist Attack Today : Terrorist Attack Today On Detroit Plan. Northwest Airlines Flight 253, which began in Nigeria before stopping in Amsterdam and heading to Detroit, was the target of a terrorist attack on Christmas day. Abdul Mudallad, a 23-year-old Nigerian claimed to be acting on behalf of al-Qaida when he attempted, but failed, to detonate a device that is being described as very sophisticated. The White House responded by increasing air travel security to the appropriate measures. Mudallad is currently in the custody of the U.S Customs and Border Protection.
Delta spokeswoman Susan Chana Elliott said that “as the plane was getting ready to land” in Detroit “a passenger caused a disturbance” by trying to ignite what was reported to be firecrackers. He was “subdued immediately.” Northwest is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta.
It is unclear how powerful the explosive could have been and what the man’s intentions were. Initial reports were that fireworks or firecrackers had gone off on the plane. The man suffered second-degree burns, which is consistent with a small fireworks device.
Abdul Mudallad is claiming to have extremist ties and that he acquired the device in Yemen with instructions as to when the device should be used. He is known in counter-terror circles and is an Islamic extremist. We’ll wait and see if the media tries to cover up his Muslim faith as they did with the Fort Hood shooter
