Alleged Detroit plotters were ex-Guantanamo inmates: Report

WASHINGTON - Two former detainees of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility are believed to have plotted the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a US airliner over Detroit, television network ABC reported Tuesday, citing US officials and documents from the defence department.

Muhamad Attik al-Harbi and Said Ali Shari were sent to Saudi Arabia in November 2007 and later released. They are among four suspected terrorists in Yemen that may have helped organise Friday’s failed plot, according to US officials. Al-Harbi has since changed his name to Muhamad al-Awfi.

A young Nigerian man has been charged with bringing explosives on board the Delta/Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit and trying to blow up the plane as it was nearing landing. The explosive failed to detonate, instead sparking a small fire, and he was quickly overpowered by passengers and crew.

Yemeni authorities admitted Monday that the Nigerian suspect, 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had been in Yemen from August to early December, attending Arabic classes.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula, based in Yemen, has claimed responsibility for the failed attack. Abdulmutallab has reportedly said he was trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen.

Al-Awfi and Shari, both Saudi nationals, have taken leadership roles in Al Qaeda in Yemen since being released from Guantanamo, US officials told ABC.

President Barack Obama has promised to close the controversial Guantanamo facility, but administration officials have acknowledged that his Jan 22 deadline for completing the closure will not be met.

Nearly half of the remaining 200 Guantanamo prisoners are from Yemen.