Detroit plotter Abdulmutallab indicted on terrorism charges

Jan 6, 2010, 20:20 GMT

Washington - A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on charges relating to his alleged attempt to blow up a US airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day.

The indictment in Detroit accuses the 23-year-old Nigerian of detonating PETN explosives on board the December 25 Delta/Northwest flight from Amsterdam as it was coming in for landing in Detroit. The explosive failed to ignite, instead causing a small fire.

Abdulmutallab faces six charges: Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; willful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft; willfully placing a destructive device on an aircraft; and two counts possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence.