Federal officials are now saying that a failed attempt by a Nigerian national to light an incendiary device on a Northwest Airlines flight was an attempted terrorist act — with possible Al Qaeda connections. New details are emerging in a story where when passengers realized the passenger was up to no good, they tackled him.

The Washington Post reports:

A Nigerian national, claiming to be acting on behalf of al-Qaeda, is in custody in Detroit after allegedly attempting to light an incendiary device aboard a Northwest Airlines flight after it landed Friday, federal officials said.

A White House official said the incident was an attempted act of terrorism. The FBI is investigating and President Obama, celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, was told of the incident about three hours after the plane landed, officials said.

Obama has told White House officials that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel, a spokesman said. Nevertheless, officials said, they are not prepared to raise the terrorism alert level, currently at orange — or the second-highest of five levels — for domestic and international air travel.

Federal officials said that the suspect said he was acting on behalf of al-Qaeda. However, the officials added that they are regarding that claim with great caution and will be investigating the claim thoroughly.

The flight: Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The number of passengers: 278 passengers from Amsterdam. The injuries: only minor injuries.

This AP video report posted on You Tube (with embed codes so that websites can repost it) quotes counterterrorism sources as saying the passenger tried to “blow up” the plane but the device failed:

According to the Detroit Free Press, a Michigan man who was passenger reports he there was a pop, smoke and fire:

A Michigan man who witnessed the attempted destruction of a Northwest Airlines flight to Metro Airport said he’s proud of how passengers reacted.

Syed Jafry of Holland, Mich., a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said after emerging from the airport that people ran out of their seats to tackle the man.

Jafry was sitting in the 16th row — three rows behind the passenger — when he heard “a pop and saw some smoke and fire.” Then, he said, “a young man behind me jumped on him.”

Jafry said there was a little bit of commotion for about 10 to 15 minutes. The incident occurred during the plane’s descent, he said.

He said the way passengers responded made him proud to be an American.

But passenger Richard Griffith of Pontiac said he was unaware of the incident until departing the plane.

He said he was sitting in the back of the plane and did not “see or hear anything.”

His wife and daughter, who had been waiting for him at the airport since about 11:40 a.m., said they saw a person they believe to be the suspect being transported from the airport. Dawn Griffith said he was “young looking” and was handcuffed to a stretcher, with his hands bandaged.

CNN and some other news outlets originally reported that the passenger tried to light some “firecrackers,” but newer stories are headlining, federal officials’ comments about it being an failed terrorist attack:

UPDATE: More and more reports now come out make it clear that this was no “firecracker.” The Wall Street Journal:

A passenger on a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight tried to detonate an explosive device that was strapped to his leg and later told investigators that he was trying to blow up the plane and had affiliations with al Qaeda, according to a senior U.S. official. The passenger was identified by authorities as Abdul Mudallad, a 23-year-old Nigerian national, according to Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who is the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. The device was technologically advanced and potentially devastating, Mr. King said. “This was not a firecracker,” he said. Mr. King said the suspect’s name did not appear on any of the terrorist watch lists maintained by U.S. authorities, but that the Nigerian national did turn up “hot” in other terrorism-related databases maintained by intelligence officials.

Mr. Mudallad suffered 3rd-degree burns when the device detonated on approach to Detroit, according to Mr. King. He said none of the other passengers was seriously injured. The man told investigators that he was given the device by al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, where he was also given instructions on how to detonate it, the U.S. official said.

“This guy claims he is tied to al Qaeda, spefically in Yemen,” the official said. “He claims he was on orders from al Qaeda in Yemen.”

Bill Burton, a White House spokesman, said President Barack Obama, who is vacationing in Hawaii, was notified of the incident after 9 a.m. local time and held two secure conference calls with his national security team to discuss the incident, but that his schedule had not changed.

MSNBC’s report raises the question whether this is an isolated incident or part of a larger attack — and reports that Obama has ordered officials to link airline security…and that passengers will note it. The suspect was on a national terrorism watch list, although not at the top part of the list:

JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief

Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.

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