Somali intelligence officials say two airport workers handled a laptop
believed to have contained a bomb that later exploded in a passenger
plane.In a video made public on Sunday by officials, one airport worker takes the laptop and hands it to another employee.The
employees then hand it over to a man who was killed when the laptop
explosion blew a hole in the plane's fuselage, said Abdisalam Aato, a
spokesman for the Somali Prime Minister.Both workers have been arrested.Somali
officials identified the lone fatality as suspect
Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh. He was sucked out of the airliner through the hole from the blast Tuesday.
Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh. He was sucked out of the airliner through the hole from the blast Tuesday.
Investigators suspect Borleh, a Somali national, carried a laptop computer with a
bomb concealed onto the plane, according to a source familiar with the
investigation.He knew precisely where to sit and how to place the device to maximize damage, the source told CNN.Given
the placement, the blast likely would have set off a catastrophic
secondary explosion in the fuel tank if the aircraft had reached
cruising altitude, the source said.But
the explosion happened at a lower altitude, between 12,000 feet and
14,000 feet, killing the Somali national and injuring two others.Though
preliminary tests showed the bomb contained a military grade of the
explosive TNT, the source said, it failed to bring down Daallo Airlines
Flight 3159. The pilot turned around and landed the Airbus safely in
Mogadishu.Somalia asked U.S. officials
for help with investigations, and several FBI agents are on the ground
assisting in Mogadishu, the spokesman said.
"This was a sophisticated attack ... so we reached out to our international partners," Aato said.
Investigators believe the attack was
orchestrated by Al-Shabaab, although they are not certain Borleh was a
direct member of the group, according to the source. No group
immediately claimed responsibility.
Al-Shabaab is an al Qaeda affiliate, though some of its it has factions have declared loyalty to ISIS. It has been responsible some of the deadliest violence in recent years in Somalia and surrounding nations, including Kenya and Uganda.At least 20 people have been arrested in connection with the blast aboard the plane, the spokesman said.
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