U.S. President Barack Obama will receive the results of a preliminary investigation Thursday into the security lapses that preceded the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound jetliner on Christmas Day.
The focus of the probe appears to be aimed at the National Counterterrorism Center, the main agency charged with collecting and analyzing intelligence gathered by many key government agencies. Officials say the center failed to connect the various reports on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young Nigerian man suspected of attempting the attack.
But U.S. news outlets say the probe has also discovered that other government entities, such as the CIA and the U.S. State Department, failed to aggressively follow up on information they had received about Abdulmutallab.
Mr. Obama ordered the investigation after Abdulmutallab, who has been linked with al-Qaida terrorists, tried and failed to detonate explosives concealed in his underwear during a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
The president also ordered a probe of aviation-screening initiatives at U.S. airports. Dutch and Nigerian officials both announced Wednesday they will begin using full-body scanners to tighten airport security in their respective nations.
The scanners, unlike metal detectors, produce a whole-body image of a passenger and can reveal plastic or chemical explosives hidden in clothing.
But the security scanners are controversial because they display a detailed image of a passenger's body on a computer screen.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.