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Source: Terror suspect's father tried to
warn authorities
Officers take suspect into custody in Detroit, Michigan,
after an attempt to destroy a Northwest Airlines flight.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Father of suspect in foiled attack
had relayed concerns to U.S.
Embassy, source says
Father feared son went to
Yemen to be part of "some kind
of jihad," source tells CNN
Nigerian, 23, charged with trying
to destroy Northwest flight on
approach to Detroit
U.S. Embassy in London granted
him a multi-year visa in June
2008, source says
Video: Terror suspect's family
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(CNN) -- The father of a man suspected in a
botched terror attack aboard a Northwest
Airlines flight contacted the U.S. Embassy in Most Popular
Nigeria recently with concerns his son was Today's five most popular stories
planning something, a senior U.S.
administration official said Saturday. Analysts see Iran at breaking point amid protests
Al Qaeda claims responsibility for failed terror
The father -- identified by a family source as attack
Umaru Abdul Mutallab -- contacted the U.S.
Embassy "a few weeks ago" saying his son, Metallica drummer struggles with ringing in ears
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had "become
Arum sets Mayweather deadline
radicalized," the senior administration official,
who is familiar with the case, told CNN. Family: China to execute British drug smuggler
Abdulmutallab, 23, was charged in a federal criminal complaint
Saturday with attempting to destroy the plane Friday on its final
approach to Michigan's Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and placing a
destructive device on the aircraft, the Department of Justice said.
A family source told CNN that Mutallab -- who recently retired as
chairman of First Bank PLC, one of Nigeria's premier banks -- had
contacted the embassy in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, and various other
security agencies earlier than the timeline provided by the
administration official. The family source said Mutallab went to those
agencies about three months ago after receiving a text message
from his son.
The source, who lives at the family home in Kaduna in northern
Nigeria, said the son informed his family in the text message that he
was leaving school in Dubai to move to Yemen. He implied that he
was leaving "for the course of Islam."
The family member said Abdulmutallab "had no family consent or
support," adding he "absconded to Yemen."
Mutallab's information about his son was forwarded to the National
Counter-Terrorism Center, and Abdulmutallab was added to a
general watch list, the senior administration official said. But the
official said "the info on him was not deemed specific enough to pull
his visa or put him on a no-fly list."
Abdulmutallab was arrested Friday and made an initial court
appearance Saturday afternoon at the University of Michigan
Medical Center in Ann Arbor, where he was being treated for severe
burns suffered when he ignited a small explosive device. Read the
federal criminal complaint and affidavit
The fire was put out and he was subdued by crew members and
passengers, and the plane landed shortly thereafter. He was taken
into custody for questioning by the FBI, authorities said.
A preliminary FBI analysis found that the device contained PETN,
also known as Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate, a highly explosive
chemical compound. In addition, FBI agents recovered what appear
to be the remnants of a syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab's
seat, believed to have been part of the device.
Abdulmutallab was granted a multiple-year, multiple-entry
tourist visa at the U.S. Embassy in London in June 2008,
the administration official said. He was a student in
London at the time, and there was "no derogatory
information that would have prevented him from getting a
visa," the official said.
 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in a statement
Saturday, said, "The security of the public must always be
our primary concern."

Britain's Home Secretary Alan Johnson said Saturday he

is following developments closely and has assured the
Video: Terror suspect charged public that police in Britain are working closely with U.S.
investigators "to uncover the full background to the
incident."

Read more about the investigation in the U.K.

When Abdulmutallab returned to Nigeria from London, he

told his family he wanted to get a second college degree
Video: Security around the world
in Egypt or Saudi Arabia, the family source said. The
family refused, because they were worried that he may
have developed ties to some dubious people. He went to
Dubai, instead, the source said, where he sent a text
message saying he had gone to Yemen to start a new life,
and that it would be difficult for anyone to reach him
because he had thrown away his SIM card.
Video: Failed terrorist attack?
Abdulmutallab's father notified the U.S. Embassy with
information on his son, saying the family feared he went
RELATED TOPICS to Yemen to participate in "some kind of jihad."
Terrorism
Air Travel A federal security bulletin obtained by CNN said Abdulmutallab
Northwest Airlines claimed the explosive device used Friday "was acquired in Yemen
Corporation
along with instructions as to when it should be used."

Yemeni authorities have yet to receive official information on the

terror attempt, according to a Yemeni official who asked not to be
named because he is not authorized to speak to the press. But, the
source said the country's government will take immediate action
once the attempted bombing suspect's alleged link to the country is
officially identified.

Earlier Saturday, the Netherlands' national coordinator for

counterterrorism told CNN that Abdulmutallab had gone through
"normal security procedures" in Amsterdam before boarding the
flight to Detroit, Michigan, and those were "well-performed."

The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did
not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, the
U.S. administration official said. See passengers' accounts

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, who chairs the House

Committee on Homeland Security, said the attempted act of
terrorism would be the focus of an oversight hearing next month.

"The committee will get to the bottom of what did and did not happen
with Mr. Abdulmutallab and what security precautions need to take
place in the future," Thompson said.

In Nigeria, the government said Saturday that it "received with

dismay the news of attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. airline" and
has ordered its security agencies to investigate the incident.

"While steps are being taken to verify the identity of the alleged
suspect and his motives, our security agencies will cooperate fully
with the American authorities in the on-going investigations," said
Dora Akunyili, Nigeria's minister of information and communications.

"We state very clearly that as a nation, we abhor all forms of

terrorism."

Officials from the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., have flown

to Michigan "to gain Consular access" to the suspect, the embassy
said in a statement Saturday. The embassy said it plans to
cooperate with U.S. authorities in the case.

An official with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration told

CNN there will be increased security measures taken on
international flights to the United States. The official advised
travelers to allow for extra time before the flight. There will be no
change in the number of carry-on bags allowed.
 CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Richard Quest, Nic Robertson and Elise Labott contributed to this
report.

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