Christmas Day terror suspect informs on mentor

WASHINGTON - The Nigerian suspect in a failed Christmas Day airliner bombing has turned against the cleric who claims to be his teacher and has helped the U.S. hunt for the radical preacher, a law enforcement official said yesterday.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, facing terrorism charges in the Christmas bombing, has been cooperating with the FBI for days, providing information about his contacts in Yemen.

His cooperation talking about U.S.-born Yemeni radical Anwar al-Awlaki is significant because it could provide fresh clues for authorities trying to capture or kill him in the remote mountains of Yemen. Al-Awlaki has emerged as a prominent al-Qaida recruiter and has been tied to the 9/11 hijackers, Abdulmutallab and the suspect in November's deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

Al-Awlaki himself said in a recent interview that he and Abdulmutallab had kept in contact. A senior U.S. intelligence official said al-Awlaki represented the biggest name on the list of people Abdulmutallab might have information against.

Abdulmutallab's cooperation with U.S. authorities is at the center of a political dispute in Washington. Democrats say it proves the Obama administration was correct to handle the case as a criminal matter. Republicans accuse the administration of leaking details for political purposes.

Abdulmutallab agreed to cooperate after FBI agents flew to Nigeria and returned with members of his family. In a federal prison outside Detroit, Abdulmutallab's father and uncle persuaded him to cooperate with the FBI, according to a U.S. official briefed on the talks. - AP