Corrections1 Staff
MILAN, Mich. — The suspected terrorist accused of attempting to detonate a bomb on a Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam to Detroit has been released from the hospital and is now being held in the federal prison in Milan, Michigan.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was treated for burns, now faces a court hearing in which investigators are expected to seek a DNA sample.
He is not expected to attend the hearing.
Abdulmutallab was charged Friday for attempting to blow up the plane, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
He has reportedly claimed that he is one from a production line of terrorists that has been trained in Yemen by al-Qaeda.
The claim came as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released its first communication since the failed bombing. In a written statement it called on “the people of the Arabian peninsula” to attack American military installations, ships and “spying embassies”.
The foiled attack came four days after a video was posted on extremist websites showing an al-Qaeda militant in Yemen warning: “We are carrying a bomb to hit the enemies of God.”
Mr Abdulmutallab, formerly a student in Britain, was overpowered as he tried to detonate explosives apparently sewn into his underpants. He emerged from the toilet, put a blanket on his lap complaining of an upset stomach, then tried to operate the bomb. Passengers and crew restrained him as flames leapt from his clothing.