Al Qaeda Underwear Bomb Maker Died in U.S. Operation Two Years Ago: White House

The maker of an underwear bomb that was worn by a terrorist on a Detroit-bound Christmas Day flight in 2009 has been killed, the White House confirmed Thursday. In a statement, the White House said senior al Qaeda bomb maker and terror coordinator Ibrahim al-Asiri was killed two years ago during a U.S. operation in Yemen. The Trump administration also said Al-Asiri was behind three other failed or foiled bombing attempts: a printer cartridge bomb plot in 2010, a 2012 bomb that was meant to be used against a passenger aircraft, and a device in the attempted assassination of the former crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

“Al-Asiri’s death significantly handicapped al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula,” the statement read. “The United States will continue to hunt down terrorists like al-Asiri until they no longer pose a threat to our great Nation.” According to USA Today, al-Asiri’s device was worn in 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s underwear and it was supposed to detonate over U.S. soil. Abdulmutallab is reportedly serving a life sentence in a maximum security Colorado prison after pleading guilty to terrorism charges.