Obama blames plane plot on al-Qaeda affiliate

The Nigerian man who allegedly attempted to detonate a bomb on a Detroit-bound flight had links to an al-Qaeda splinter group responsible for bombing other targets, U.S. President Barack Obama said in his weekly address released Saturday.

"This is not the first time this group has targeted us," Obama said. "In recent years, they have bombed Yemeni government facilities and Western hotels, restaurants and embassies — including our embassy in 2008, killing one American."

In his most direct public language to date, the president described the path through Yemen of 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is accused of trying to destroy Northwest Flight 253, an Airbus A330 with 278 passengers and 11 crew members aboard, near the end of its journey from Amsterdam on Christmas Day.

"We're learning more about the suspect," Obama said. "We know that he travelled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies. It appears that he joined an affiliate of al-Qaeda, and that this group — al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America."

Obama was speaking from Hawaii, where he is on holiday with his family.

He emphasized that the United States would continue its partnerships with friendly countries — citing Yemen, in particular — to fight extremist groups around the globe.

Last week, Obama said a "systemic failure" in security protocols allowed the suspect to board the plane and that officials did not properly handle information about Abdulmutallab, including a warning from the suspect's father, who had told U.S. diplomats in November that his son's devotion to Islam had taken an extremist turn.

Officials allege the explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate, or PETN, was concealed in the suspect's underwear and that he used another chemical and a syringe in an attempt to ignite the powder. The device failed to explode and the fire that followed was extinguished by fellow passengers and a crew member.