Bargains

Detroit Bomber Liked Cheap Airfaire

Abdulmutallab found other targets too expensive.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that everyone was leaving Detroit, the cheap air fare is attracting terrorists. Suspected underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab considered bombing Houston and Chicago, but the tickets were too expensive, so he went with Detroit. The timing of the attack—Christmas Day 2009—was also unintended. Abdulmutallab admitted to trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 shortly after his arrest, and initially cooperated with investigators, providing information on the activities of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based branch of the terrorist group. Plea discussions later fell apart, and he’s scheduled to represent himself as his own lawyer in October.