Background here.

From what we know so far, 23-year-old Nigerian man Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was aboard Northwest Airlines flight 253, which travels from Amsterdam to Detroit. His original departing location was Lagos, Nigeria. He departed his home country on Thursday, before taking flight 253 on Friday.

Abdulmutallab, who was traveling on a one-way ticket, attempted to light what officials are describing as a mixture of powder and liquid during the plane’s descent into Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The device failed, but two passengers noticed the attempted attack and a third individual tackled the suspect. He was eventually subdued by the crew.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who has been briefed on the incident as a senior member of Congress, says Abdulmutallab is actually known in counterterrorism circles and may have been on the federal no-fly list. How the attempted terrorist would’ve been able to board a U.S.-bound plane is unclear.

Abdulmutallab, who is now being treated in a burn ward at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, says he wanted to blow up a commercial airliner over the United States. He claims to be connected to al-Qaeda.

President Barack Obama has been briefed on the incident but there are no reported plans to alter his vacation schedule.

More soon.