‘Underpants bomber’ pleads guilty to all charges

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, is charged with eight felonies, including conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, attempted murder, and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Not guilty pleas had previously been entered on behalf of the defendant.

Judge Nancy Edmunds asked Abdulmutallab if he wanted to plead guilty to the charges against him. As she read out each charge, he said: “I plead guilty.”

Abdulmutallab, who has been held in federal prison in Michigan pending the trial, previously told US investigators he had received the bomb and training from al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, according to US officials.

Abdulmutallab is thought to have got on a plane in Lagos before transferring to a Northwest Airlines flight at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on 25 December 2009.

The plane left Amsterdam with 290 people on board. As it approached its destination, Detroit, the suspect is alleged to have tried to ignite a device in his underwear.

Abdulmutallab, who suffered extensive burns, was overpowered by passengers and crew on the flight.

Anwar al-Awlaki, the leading al-Qaeda figure killed by a US drone strike in Yemen at the end of September, is believed to have recruited Abdulmutallab while in London.