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Why Underwear Bomber Flew to Detroit: Cheap Fares

Shows break from bin Laden's love of symbolic targets

By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 24, 2011 6:49 AM CDT

(Newser) – With 25% of its own residents fleeing Detroit, it might seem like the would-be underwear bomber could have picked a more devastating US target than Motor City. But, as the AP has learned, airplane tickets to considered destinations Chicago or Houston were just too darn expensive, so Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab plunked down a more modest $2,831 on a round-trip to Detroit.

The mentality shows al-Qaeda in Yemen's philosophical break from Osama bin Laden's penchant for striking symbolic targets—it's not so much what is hit, as the fact that a hit is carried out. Last year's attempted cargo plane attack, in which the target cities also didn't matter, underscored that strategy, and it's helped al-Qaeda in Yemen become a top threat to the US. Click for more details.

The Detroit metropolitan airport terminal is seen in Romulus, Mich., Friday, Dec. 25, 2009.
The Detroit metropolitan airport terminal is seen in Romulus, Mich., Friday, Dec. 25, 2009.   (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
This December 2009 file photo shows Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is charged with trying to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear.
This December 2009 file photo shows Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is charged with trying to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear.   (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File)
This Dec. 25, 2009 file photo shows Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Officials say a passenger was trying to ignite an explosive device.
This Dec. 25, 2009 file photo shows Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Officials say a passenger was trying to ignite an explosive device.   (AP Photo/J.P. Karas, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 15 comments
HappyHabenero
Mar 25, 2011 5:06 AM CDT
Well any moron that would do the suicide bomb thing in the first place , aint too bright to start with. The fact that he bought a ticket to Detroit just confirms it lol
Halfhitch
Mar 24, 2011 6:15 PM CDT
Why would anybody smuggle explosives in their underwear when everybody knows you can take down a plane simply by using your cell phone. Oh shit! I hope the FBI doesn't contact me.
stevsie
Mar 24, 2011 11:53 AM CDT
you mean the patsy that was put on the plane without a passport by his cia handler? that guy?
US

 
Detroit • terror plots • suicide bomber • Yemen • Detroit terror incident • Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab • al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula • underwear bomber

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