Abdulmutallab Had Passport, Dutch Say

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Suspected Terrorist Presented Valid Nigerian Passport, U.S. Visa in Amsterdam, Contradicting Reports about Airport Accomplice

CBS/AP) The suspected terrorist who tried to blow up Northwest Flight 253 Christmas day did present a passport to authorities in Amsterdam before boarding the Detroit-bound plane, Holland's counter-terrorism agency said Wednesday.

Abdulmutallab arrived in Amsterdam on Friday from Lagos, Nigeria. After a layover of less than three hours, he passed through a security check at the gate in Amsterdam, including a hand baggage scan and a metal detector, officials said.

Abdulmutallab was carrying a valid Nigerian passport and had a valid U.S. visa, the Dutch said. His name did not appear on any Dutch list of terror suspects.

The confirmation on Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab's passport comes after a fellow passenger claimed to have seen a possible accomplice help the 23-year-old Nigerian board the flight.

Special Report: The Christmas Day Terror Attack

Kurt Haskell, a Michigan resident returning home from a safari in Uganda with his wife, told the Detroit Free Press that he noticed Abdulmutallab "because of who he was traveling with" - a wealthy looking Indian man in his 50s.

Haskell, who was playing cards near the ticket counter at Schipol Airport, said the Indian man told ticket agents that Abdulmutallab "needs to board the plane, but he doesn't have a passport. ... He's from Sudan. We do this all the time."

But the Dutch counter-terrorism unit's investigation into Abdulmutallab's passport pokes holes in the theory that the alleged bomber had help evading security.

Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate an explosive device, which included the highly explosive chemical PETN as the flight prepared to land. The device, which was hidden in the suspect's pants, malfunctioned allowing fellow passengers to subdue the attacker.

Now we have a report that flies in the face of witnesses claiming the bomber didn't have a passport, and was being helped by a well dressed mystery man.

It would be fairly simple for the FBI to come out and say whether or not he had a passport, so why would the Dutch feel they had to? Is this damage control on the other end where the breach happened? Or, is this an attempt to distract focus from the mystery man, and hopefully end any further seeking of information?

Surely, they had videotape in the airport, no?

Come on kids! I know this crashes the conspiracy theory about the well dressed man helping him get on the plane without a passport, but I expected some sort of replies based on this revelation.

The witnesses still claim they saw the guy at the airport, regardless.

Surely someone has something to add or say? Why did it take almost a week for the Dutch to say he had the passport, when it was in the news from the beginning? I think they lost some credibility on the speed to reply front, kind of like Obama.

Would be nice to hear some other opinions on this, though!