Alleged bomb plotter lashes out in court

DETROIT -- A Nigerian man accused of trying to bring down a jetliner with a bomb in his underwear made a defiant political outburst yesterday.

"The mujahideen will wipe out the U.S. -- the cancer U.S.," said Umar Farouk Abdulmutal-lab, scowling as he referred to Muslim guerrilla fighters. He also claimed that a radical Muslim cleric killed last week by a drone attack is still alive.

In nearly two years of legal proceedings, Abdulmutallab, 24, has been polite and studious. But in the moments before court, he makes outbursts reflecting loyalty to al-Qaida and contempt for the United States.

He is charged with trying to destroy the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight on Christmas 2009. He has pleaded not guilty. Acting as his own lawyer, Abdulmutallab briefly questioned a potential juror, who expressed concern about people possibly "waiting in the wings outside the courthouse," no matter the verdict.

"There could be people who would be angry and want to retaliate?" he asked. "Yes," she replied.

Abdulmutallab, a well-educated man from a wealthy family, has spent two years in custody.

"Anwar is alive," he said, referring to American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in an airstrike in Yemen just days ago. The government alleges that Abdulmutallab's attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was directed by al-Awlaki. -- AP