Attempted Christmas Day bomber picked Detroit as target because of cheap plane ticket
More details are being learned about why Detroit was chosen as a target in an attempt by an al-Qaida operative to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day 2009. It appears Detroit was picked because, quite simply, it was a cheap destination. The Associated Press reports:
The Associated Press has learned that when an admitted al-Qaida operative planned his itinerary for a Christmas 2009 airline bombing, he considered launching the strike in the skies above Houston or Chicago.
But tickets were too expensive, so he refocused the mission on a cheaper destination: Detroit.
The decision shows that al-Qaida's Yemen branch does not share Osama bin Laden's desire to attack symbolic targets.
After the failed bombing and the arrest of suspected bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the question of why Detroit was targeted had gone unanswered.
Current and former counterterrorism officials told the AP that Abdulmutallab considered Houston. Another person with knowledge of the case said Abdulmutallab also considered Chicago.
All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.