Underwear Bomber to Get Life Sentence

The family of the Nigerian man known as the underwear bomber say they're shocked after a federal judge in Detroit sentenced him to life in prison without parole today.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab pleaded guilty to trying to destroy a Northwest Airlines flight in 2009, saying he was on a suicide mission for al-Qaida. The 25-year-old says the bomb in his underwear was a "blessed weapon" to avenge poorly treated Muslims worldwide.

The bomb didn't fully detonate aboard an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight but caused a brief fire that burned Abdulmutallab.

Federal Judge Nancy Edmunds announced the sentence in Detroit courtroom today, calling it a "just punishment" and saying Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab "poses a significant ongoing threat to the safety of American citizens everywhere."

In a statement, his family says they believed he'd be the "last person" to try to blow up a plane for the terror network. They say they're grateful that no one was seriously hurt.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)