Officials investigate travel of man charged in airliner attack, no proof yet of al-Qaida link

Travel of man charged in airline attack probed

WASHINGTON — A key Congress member says the man charged with trying to take down a Detroit-bound plane had travel patterns that triggered concerns, but officials are still working to confirm his claims of al-Qaida training.

Officials have said that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had come to the attention of U.S. officials at least several weeks ago, but the information wasn’t specific enough to raise alarms.

Washington Democratic Rep. Adam Smith says Abdulmutallab is “making big claims” about meeting with people in Yemen, but officials have found no concrete evidence yet to back up those assertions.

U.S. intelligence officials say their investigation is pointing in that direction, but they are still running down his claims. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.