Terror arrest

DETROIT, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The "underwear bomb" used in an attack on a U.S. jetliner could have torn a hole in the aircraft's fuselage, authorities said.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old man from Nigeria, is being held in Michigan after passengers and crew apprehended him. Abdulmutallab alleged tried to set fire materials in his clothing during a Christmas Day flight carrying 287 people from the Netherlands to Detroit.

There was about 80 grams of explosive material, which was similar to the substance "shoe bomber" Richard Reid tried to ignite while on a flight Dec. 22, 2001.

Authorities said acid carried in a syringe didn't reach the explosives, which is why there was no blast.

"It's very clear it came very, very close," U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said. "The explosive device went off but it became an incendiary device instead of an explosive device, which is probably what saved that airplane."

Abdulmutallab allegedly admitted to the FBI that he was trained to use the bomb by an al-Qaida group in Yemen. That group claimed responsibility for the attack. Abdulmutallab also reportedly told authorities the group had additional bombers planning to attack U.S. interests.