Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known by their initials AQAP, has claimed responsibility for the failed bombing of flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. In a statement on its website, AQAP said the attempted bombing was in retaliation for joint Yemen/US operations taken against the group in the last week and a half. They bragged about the ease with which the bombs was smuggled on to the plane saying that the bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, “…managed to penetrate all devices and modern advanced technology and security checkpoints in international airports … defying the large myth of American and international intelligence, and exposing how fragile they are, bringing their nose to the ground”

Abdulmuttalab is in American custody awaiting trial. He was formally charged with two crimes on Saturday, in his hospital room at the University of Michigan Medical Center.