Father of Nigerian bomb suspect asked to testify in US

Washington: The banker father of the young Nigerian suspected of trying to blow up a US-bound jet on Christmas day with a bomb sewn into his briefs, has been asked to testify before the US Congress, a committee said on Monday.

"Mr. Mutallab, who identified his own son as an extremist and threat to the United States, has an important story to tell and the committee would like to hear from him," said Frederick Jones, spokesman for the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

"Congress is wrestling with the specific questions of the Christmas Day bombing plot, and the broader questions of how Yemen has become a touchstone for radicalization," added Jones.

The impoverished country's long-standing experience with extremism has drawn close attention since an Al-Qaeda branch claimed responsibility for the narrowly-averted Christmas Day bombing on the Detroit-bound Northwest jet.

The committee, led by Senator John Kerry, had not yet heard from the suspect's father on any potential appearance as of Monday, the spokesman said.

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But a source in Nigeria, speaking on condition or anonymity, said Mutallab, a prominent banker, "intends to honor the invitation" to appear on January 20.

In October or November, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab - the father of the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253 -- approached US embassy officials in Abuja and told them he was worried his son had become radicalized by extremists in Yemen, officials have said.

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