ATTEMPTED ATTACK ON BOARD A U.S PLANE FAILS

An incident on an airliner arriving in the US city of Detroit from Amsterdam in the Netherlands was a failed bomb attack, according to a senior US official. Sources say a man burnt his leg trying to ignite explosives on the jet, which had 278 passengers and 11 crew aboard, but nobody else was seriously hurt. In custody, the Nigerian suspect said he had been acting on behalf of al-Qaeda. Increased security for air travel has since been ordered. Northwest Airlines Flight 253 had been about 20 minutes away from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Friday afternoon when the incident occurred.