WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The suspect in an attempt to detonate an explosive device on a Delta Airlines flight outside Detroit is thought to have al Qaeda connections, Representative Peter King told CNN.
The 23-year-old Nigerian, who was subdued by passengers and flight crew, "did appear in a database as far as having a terrorist connection," King said in an interview.
King is a Republican member of the House Homeland Security Committee.
"My understanding is ... that he does have al Qaeda connections, certainly extremist terrorist connections, and his name popped up pretty quickly" in a search of intelligence databases, King said.
(Reporting by Todd Eastham; editing by Chris Wilson)
