Washington: A Nigerian man, claiming links with Al Qaeda, was held for trying to blow up the Amsterdam-Detroit flight on Christmas day, setting off a major security alert in the US with the incident being described as an ‘attempted terrorist attack’. He attempted to ignite a “sophisticated device”

The 23 year old accused was identified as Abdul Mudallad was badly hurt and admitted to local hospital. The Amsterdam-Detroit Northwest Airlines, 278 passengers sustain minor injuries, when the incident took place.

US President Barack Obama celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, expressed concerns over the incident and order  the authorities to take appropriate measures to increase the security for air travel.