Nigerian indicted in plot to blow up plane

? A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day was indicted Wednesday on charges including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was traveling from Amsterdam when he tried to destroy the plane by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear, authorities say.

The failed attack caused popping sounds and flames that passengers and crew rushed to extinguish.

The bomb was designed to detonate “at a time of his choosing,” the grand jury’s indictment said.

There is no specific mention of terrorism in the seven-page indictment. But trying to use a weapon of mass destruction is a terrorism charge, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said.

President Barack Obama considers the incident an attempted strike against the United States by an affiliate of al-Qaida.

U.S. investigators have said Abdulmutallab told them he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. His father warned the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria that his son had drifted into extremism in Yemen, but that threat was never fully digested by the U.S. security apparatus.

Since the failed attack, airlines and the Transportation Security Administration have boosted security in airports in the U.S. and around the world. Obama has said the government had information that could have stopped Abdulmutallab, but intelligence agencies failed to connect the dots.

The Los Angeles Times, citing unnamed law enforcement officials, reported Wednesday evening that U.S. border security officials learned of Abdulmutallab’s alleged extremist links while he was en route to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed.

The Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment on the Times report Wednesday night.