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DETROIT (Reuters) - Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner, will appear in federal court on Friday to hear the charges against him in an incident that has prompted a sweeping review of U.S. security policy.
Abdulmutallab was to be arraigned on six charges, including attempted murder and the attempted use of a "weapon of mass destruction" to bring down a plane carrying 289 other people.
President Barack Obama in remarks on Thursday took ultimate responsibility for security failures that led to the attempted Christmas Day bombing of the U.S. airliner and ordered reforms aimed at thwarting future attacks
U.S. officials say Abdulmutallab tried to ignite explosives concealed in his clothing as a flight from Amsterdam prepared to land in Detroit, but was subdued by other passengers.
Linked to a Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda, Abdulmutallab has been held in a federal prison in Milan, Michigan.
If convicted of all six counts, he faces life in prison plus up to 90 years.
Neither federal prosecutors or Abdulmutallab's court-appointed defense lawyers would comment ahead of the Friday afternoon arraignment in Detroit.
The initial hearing could take only several minutes, setting the stage for a trial that legal experts said is weighted heavily in the government's favor given the evidence, including Adbulmutallab's injuries.
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