U.S. President Barack Obama has blamed a Yemen-based al Qaeda group for the attempted Dec. 25 bombing of a Detroit-bound plane.
In his weekly Internet and radio address, Obama focused on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian who is accused of trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, and his journey to Yemen.
"We're learning more about the suspect," Obama said. "We know that he travelled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies. It appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda, and that this group -- al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America."
The president's comments are the strongest yet concerning a suspected link between al Qaeda and the accused airline bomber.
"This is not the first time this group has targeted us," he said. "In recent years, they have bombed Yemeni government facilities and Western hotels, restaurants and embassies, including our embassy in 2008, killing one American."
Obama also highlighted Washington's desire to work with friendly countries to combat terrorism around the world -- singling out Yemen in particular.
"So, as president, I've made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the Yemeni government -- training and equipping their security forces, sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al-Qaida terrorists," he said.
Obama has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the alleged bomb plot, which was thwarted when the attacker failed to properly ignite the explosives he had smuggled on board, strapped to the inside of his leg.
As part of the investigation, U.S. intelligence officials are preparing to testify before Congress about miscommunication between government agencies charged with fighting terrorism.
Obama has been critical of the agencies and is expected to push for extensive changes to how they operate.
U.S. officials have said that Abdulmutallab's father warned the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria that his son had been radicalized and had relocated to Yemen, which has become an al Qaeda hub similar to Pakistan or Somalia. Yet security agencies didn't appear to fully heed the warning.
Yemen responds
On Friday, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh sent several hundred more troops to two provinces in east of the country where al Qaeda is believed to be operating, according to officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The Marib and Jaouf provinces are both mountainous and the central government's control over them is weak.
The government in Sanaa is facing a number of economic and political crises, making it difficult to expel terrorist groups from Yemeni territory.
Many security experts fear the impoverished Arab country is at risk of descending into a state of civil war and lawlessness, similar to Somalia.
The U.S. has boosted its security aid to Yemen in an effort to stem the growing presence of al Qaeda in that country.
With files from The Associated Press
