AbdulMutallab pleads guilty to terror charges

THE Nigerian, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, accused of trying to detonate an explosive device in his underwear aboard a Christmas 2009 flight to Detroit, United States (U.S.), yesterday pleaded guilty to all counts of terrorism in an American court.AbdulMutallab had been indicted on charges including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, and possession of a firearm or destructive device in furtherance of an act of violence.He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.The announcement came a day after the prosecution finished its opening statement, the Cable News Network (CNN) reported yesterday.On Tuesday, the prosecution finished its opening statement and the defence said it would reserve the right to give an opening statement at a later point in the trial.The judge of U.S. District, Nancy Edmunds, refused to prevent the prosecution from calling the device he allegedly carried a 'bomb.'Edmunds also refused to exclude a photo of AbdulMutallab's burned genitals from the evidence.While at previous court appearances AbdulMutallab has had outbursts - including yelling 'Osama's alive,' a reference to Osama bin Laden - he remained calm on Tuesday.He was indicted on charges including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, and possession of a firearm or destructive device in furtherance of an act of violence.He was a passenger on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route from the Netherlands to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.U.S. officials said the terror group, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was behind the alleged bombing attempt.
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