Ft. Hood Shooter's Imam 'Blessed' Bomb Plot

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has told investigators that the radical imam who mentored Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan gave his blessing to the attempted Christmas Day attack, according to a law enforcement source. Anwar al-Awlaki indoctrinated Abdulmutallab and offered him encouragement during his al-Qaeda training in Yemen, the sources tell the Washington Times.

Abulmutallab says he was brought to a room full of other men "all covered in white martyrs' garments" and told, "You are going to be the tip of the spear of the Muslim nation," according to the official. The American-born imam was believed to have been killed in an air strike in Yemen last week, but officials there have been unable to confirm his death. (More Detroit terror incident stories.)