Airports tighten security after thwarted plane bombing U.S. says Nigerian, 23, attemp TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Airports worldwide over the weekend were increasing security -- limiting carry-on luggage, restricting some passenger movement on flights, and making more intensive physical inspections of passengers and bags -- in the wake of a Friday effort by a Nigerian man who claimed ties to Al Qaeda to take down a Northwest Airlines plane as it was attempting to land in Detroit.

Government authorities have launched wide-ranging investigations into the incident, and President Barack Obama was being regularly updated on the situation by his staff, media reports say.

"Passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures in place," a Saturday statement from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, posted on the agency's web site, said.

"These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere.

"Due to the busy holiday travel season, both domestic and international travelers should allot extra time for check-in."

The FBI on Saturday filed a federal criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Detroit, charging Umar Farouk Abdulmutullab, 23, with a "willful attempt to destroy an aircraft" and placing an explosive device on a plane. Conviction on the charge of trying to destroy an aircraft could bring the suspect as much as 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the Associated Press reported.
Device with explosive

Bloomberg News quoted Rep. Peter King of New York, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, as saying that other charges, including terrorism and attempted murder, might yet be brought against Abdulmuttalab.

On Friday, Abdulmutullab boarded Northwest Airlines flight 253 in Amsterdam, an Airbus 330 bound for Detroit with 278 passengers and 11 crew.

Passengers on the flight told news services that late in the flight, Abdulmutullab had spent 20 minutes in the bathroom, then returned to his seat, complained of stomach upset, and pulled a blanket over himself.

As the plane was preparing to land, they heard a popping noise, smelled smoke, and spotted Abdulmutullab's pants and the wall of the plane on fire. Flight crew used extinguishers to put out the flames and passengers subdued Abdulmutullab, reports said.

The complaint says that attached to Abdulmutullab's body was an explosive device containing the high explosive PETN. A flight attendant asked Abdulmutullab what he had in his pocket, and he replied, "explosive device," the complaint says. Media reports say he remained calm throughout the incident.

The plane landed safely. Abdulmutullab was arrested and taken for treatment for burns at University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, and U.S. District Judge Paul Borman read him the charges there.

The suspect's name appeared in a U.S. database of terror-related individuals, the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment.

But reports say that none of the information the government had on Abdulmutullab warranted placing him on the U.S.'s official terror watch list or no-fly list.

U.K. media reports say that Abdulmutullab graduated from a university in London in 2008 but U.K. border officials refused his request for a new visa in May when he attempted to apply for a course at a bogus college.
Listening and verifying

Reports say that AbdulMutullab's father, a prominent Nigerian banker, last month had warned U.S. and Nigerian authorities that his son had developed extreme religious views.

U.K. reports say that Scotland Yard detectives are working with U.S. investigators. Nigeria's minister of information and communications, Dora Akunyili, was quoted by This Day in Nigeria as saying that the country was attempting to verify the identity and motive of the suspect and that the country's security agencies would cooperate with U.S. authorities in their investigation.

Media reports say that intelligence officials are taking seriously AbdulMutullab's claims that he was trained and instructed by al Qaeda operatives in Yemen but that officials have yet to independently confirm what he said.

The material that AbdulMutullab allegedly ignited, PETN, is the same explosive that Richard Reid, a London-born convert to Islam, had attempted to ignite in his shoe aboard an American Airlines flight in December 2001, media reports said.

For passengers, the heightened security at airports means they'll be more carefully searched before they board planes. Air Canada ordered that during the last hour of flights, passengers won't be able to get up from their seats, access their carry-on baggage, or hold anything in their laps, the Associated Press reported.

More bomb sniffing dogs will be posted and carry-on items will be screened at security checkpoints and again at boarding, AP reported.

British Airways said in a statement on its web site that passengers departing to the U.S. would be allowed only one item of hand luggage each.

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