Accused Christmas Day Bomber Cooperating With Investigators After Visit From Family

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of attempting to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, has been talking openly with investigators "for days" after visits from two of his family members, the New York Times reports. CIA operatives located the relatives in Lagos, Nigeria, and persuaded them to come to the United States and encourage Abdulmutallab to cooperate.

The suspect was not speaking to FBI investigators before his relatives arrived, but since then has told authorities how and why he tried to detonate an underwear bomb aboard a flight from Amsterdam on Dec. 25. Officials said the relatives agreed to help because they disapproved of his decision to attack American targets.

FBI Director Robert Mueller said Abdulmutallab had provided valuable intelligence, but Mueller did not offer specifics. The suspect, who has been interrogated with his defense lawyer present, has not been offered a plea bargain for his cooperation, a law enforcement official said.