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2009 Detroit Christmas Day bombmaker dead, White House confirms

Posted at 9:51 AM, Oct 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-10 12:11:49-04

(WXYZ) — The White House has confirmed that the man who made the bomb that was used in the failed Christmas Day 2009 underwear bomb attack is dead.

According to a White House statement, Ibrahim al-Asiri was killed during a United States counterterrorism operation in Yemen two years ago.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate explosives, built by al-Asiri, hidden in his underwear while aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas 2009.

The White House says al-Asiri also built an explosive device intended to be used against an aircraft in 2012.

"The United States will continue to hunt down terrorists like al-Asiri until they no longer pose a threat to our great nation," The White House said in a statement.