So al Qaeda in Yemen (in the Arabian Peninsula) has now claimed responsibility for sending Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab onboard a US bound jetliner on Christmas Day for the purpose of blowing it up. An al Qaeda spokesman said: “The Mujahedeen brothers in the manufacturing section had succeeded in developing a very sophisticated explosive device. It had been tested for effectiveness and the trial tests proved to be successful. It had also been tested against detection machines.” Fortunately for the passengers onboard, something went wrong and the device failed. Now al Qaeda has warned that the device would be perfected.
The al Qaeda website said concerning Umar Farouk al-Nigiri (Umar Farouk the Nigerian): “He managed to penetrate all devices and modern advanced technology and security checkpoints in international airports bravely without fear of death. Relying on God and defying the large myth of American and international intelligence, and exposing how fragile they are, bringing their nose to the ground, and making them regret all they spent on security technology.”
This is the third time that pentaerythritol tetranitrate, better known as PETN was used in a terrorist act, and in all three cases it failed. But al Qaeda is not giving up. It looks like a case of if at first you don’t succeed, try try again.
The first attempt to use PETN was on December 22, 2001. Then Briton Richard Reid also known as Abdul Raheem and as Tariq Raja, tried to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami with PETN and a triacetone triperoxide (TATP) detonator hidden in the lining of his shoe. PETN is known to cause big explosions even when small quantities are used.
Richard Reid, who thereafter became known as the “shoe bomber”, actually managed to lit a match and was about to set fire to a fuse in his shoe. But he was stopped by the crew and passengers, and he was arrested at Boston where the plane made an emergency landing. He has been convicted and is now serving a life sentence in prison in the US.
In August this year, during the holy month of Ramadan, a Saudi al-Qaeda militant operating from Yemen told Saudi Arabia’s head of counterterrorism, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, that he wanted to return and surrender. He had no actual desire to do so, but wanted to get near Prince Mohammed bin Nayef to assassinate him.
The terrorist carried a pound of high explosives PETN, plus a detonator inside his rectum. The bomb was initiated by an electronic signal from a cell phone. The device did manage to explode, but the only casualty was the bomber himself who died. Prince Mohammed bin Nayef suffered only minor injuries.
Now fast forward to Christmas Day this year, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used the same chemical explosive PETN to try and bring down Delta (Northwest) Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. However, in this instance the detonator is a syringe containing a fluid initiator to be injected into the PETN. And he had 80 gm of PETN, almost twice the amount that Richard Reid had in 2001.
How did Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab carry the PETN onboard? Investigators now believe that the explosives were carried in a soft plastic container, possibly a condom. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used a syringe to inject a chemical into the powder, which was located near his groin. This is a technique not seen in previous attempted attacks.
In the light of these more sophisticated attacks, what should be done? President Barack Obama said: “A full investigation has been launched into this attempted act of terrorism. We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists. Those who would slaughter innocent men, women and children must know that the United States will do more than just strengthen our defences. We will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable. We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, dismantle and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us, whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia, or anywhere.”
Think about it. al Qaeda is determined to try try again until they succeed. In the meantime, it has shown that existing airport and airline security measures put in place post 9/11 are simply inadequate. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab could clear such security measures in Nigeria and Amsterdam without a problem. His name is on the watch list, but not on the no-fly list of the US. Why should innocent airline passengers suffer because of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups’ action?
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