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'Underwear Bomber' Said He Worked For Al-Qaida

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Federal prosecutors say a Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a passenger jet as it neared Detroit in 2009 told agents after being taken into custody that he was working for al-Qaida.

The government made the disclosure Friday in a court filing in Detroit. Prosecutors say Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab made statements about his "mission, training and radicalization," shortly after being removed from the plane and later at a hospital while being treated for burns.

Abdulmutallab is trying to have the statements thrown out before his October trial because he was not told of his Miranda rights against self-incrimination

The government says those rights don't apply if authorities believe there may be an immediate threat to public safety.

Authorities say he hid explosives in his underwear.

Friday's news comes just a day after word was released about a letter from Abdulmutallab to the judge, requesting that he be released from prison and be judged by the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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