Officials: Body of Suicide Bomber Blown Out of Plane

Bomber likely used wheelchair to get through security
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 4, 2016 6:00 PM CST
Officials: Body of Suicide Bomber Blown Out of Plane
Officials believe a suicide bomber in a wheelchair was responsible for the explosion that knocked a hole in a passenger plane Tuesday in Somalia. The bomber was likely blown out of the hole, plummeting to the ground.   (AP Photo)

The explosion aboard a passenger flight in Somalia on Tuesday is now believed to have been caused by a suicide bomber in a wheelchair, the Wall Street Journal reports. Officials believe the explosion blew the bomber through the side of the plane. According to the Telegraph, witnesses reported seeing a body on fire fall to Earth. Miraculously, the plane was able to land safely with only two injuries reported among the 74 passengers and crew. One expert tells the Journal the bomb would have likely done much more damage if the bomber had waited until the plane was at a higher altitude. The wheelchair is believed to have helped the bomber get past security because disabled passengers are sometimes seen as "being above suspicion," as the Telegraph puts it. No group has taken credit for the suspected terror attack. (More Somalia stories.)

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