AP source: Christmas bomb suspect flips on cleric

By The Associated PressEILEEN SULLIVAN (Associated Press Writer), MATT APUZZO (Associated Press Writer)February 4, 2010

(AP) — A law enforcement official says the Nigerian suspect in the failed Christmas Day airliner attack has given up intelligence about a radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO'-mahr fah-ROOK' ahb-DOOL'-moo-TAH'-lahb) has been cooperating with the FBI. He has provided information about Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric who has emerged as a prominent al-Qaida recruiter. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Abdulmutallab's cooperation against al-Awlaki could provide fresh clues for authorities trying to capture or kill him in the remote mountains of Yemen. Al-Awlaki has been linked to the 9/11 hijackers, the Fort Hood shootings and the botched Christmas Day bombing attempt.

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