Somali court released suspect in plane incident

A SOMALI court acquitted and released a suspect who tried to board a plane in Mogadishu in November with chemicals and a syringe – materials similar to those used in the attempted attack against a Detroit-bound airliner.

The news that Somali officials freed the suspect will hamper efforts by US investigators to learn if the two attempted attacks were linked. Terrorism analysts had said the arrest in Somalia could prove highly valuable to the Detroit investigation.

Somali Police Commissioner General Ali Hassan Loyan said the court released the suspect on December 12 after ruling that officials hadn’t demonstrated he intended to commit a crime. The man, whose name has not been released, said the chemicals were to process camera film.