**Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to bomb a transatlantic flight on Christmas Day, according to an internet statement.**A US monitoring organisation quoted the group as saying the plot was conceived to avenge US attacks on it in Yemen.
A Nigerian man has been charged with attempting to set off an explosive device on board a Northwest Airlines Amsterdam-Detroit flight on Friday.
US President Barack Obama is expected to make a statement about the plot.
The 23-year-old accused, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had co-ordinated the plot with members of the group, said the statement, according to US monitor SITE Intelligence.
Yemeni forces, aided by US intelligence, carried out two airstrikes against al-Qaeda in the country this month, the second of which came on the eve of the attempted plane bombing.