With guilty plea, underwear bomber cuts short intriguing terror trial

[FR7 Baptist]

A Nigerian man accused of concealing a bomb in his underwear to destroy a commercial jetliner on Christmas Day 2009 pleaded guilty to all eight counts in his indictment on Wednesday.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was facing charges that he plotted with Al Qaeda to carry out a martyrdom mission by blowing up a US airliner with 292 people on board as it approached Detroit.

The bomb caught fire but did not explode.

Mr. Abdulmutallab, acting against the advice of his appointed stand-by counsel, decided to end the trial as it was just beginning. He read a statement in open court admitting responsibility for each of the charges filed against him, including conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, attempting to destroy a civil aircraft, and attempted murder.

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I'm kind of bummed because this was shaping up to be a very interesting case.