Somalia Unrest

In this photograph made available by the Somali Government, Somali Police Commissioner Gen. Ali Hassan Loyan, right, speaks at a press conference in Mogadishu, Somalia on Thursday Dec. 31, 2009 as chemicals and a syringe are displayed. A Somali court acquitted and released a suspect who tried to board a plane in Mogadishu in November with chemicals and a syringe — materials similar to those used in the attempted attack against a Detroit-bound airliner. Loyan said the court released the suspect on Dec. 12 after ruling that officials hadn't demonstrated he intended to commit a crime. The man, whose name has not been released, said the chemicals were to process camera film. In light of the attempted attack on the Detroit-bound plane, Loyan said Somali authorities would collaborate with U.S. officials and share information and the confiscated materials.