New details are emerging regarding Monday’s frightening incident on a Somali airline that saw a man sucked out of a jet in midair after an in-flight explosion. Reports suggest that the man killed in the event was a would-be suicide bomber.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with a source, which indicated that the man at the center of the incident bypassed security screening in Mogadishu by traveling in a wheelchair. Once loaded onto the plane, the man moved to a regular seat. Five minutes after, the man was sucked out of the aircraft after the explosion occurred; he ultimately perished.
Newsweek is stating that there was a positive test for explosive residue on the plane. Suspicions that the incident could be connected to a terrorist organization sprang up not long after the explosion with U.S. officials reportedly looking at Somali Al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab as a leading suspect. That theory was strengthened today with CNN reporting (on live TV) that Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the incident.
(Via Newsweek & The Wall Street Journal)