US officials have confirmed that yesterday, a suspected terrorist tried to blow up a transatlantic Detroit-bound plane, which had 278 passengers aboard, before he was captured and subdued.

According to Peter King of New York, the top Republican on the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, the suspect was caught while trying to destroy the place with an "explosive device".

White House officials have confirmed that President Obama is treating the whole incident as an "attempted terrorist attack".

The suspected bomber has been identified as Abdul Mudallad of Nigeria.

The incident happened aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, which had taken off from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. Mr. King has asserted that the whole incident "definitely appears to be al- Qaeda related".

"This was not a firecracker. This was for real", he stressed.

After the attempted attack, President Obama has demanded "all appropriate measures to be taken to increase security".