The US House of Representatives' homeland security committee is sending several staff to London and Amsterdam as part of a probe into the foiled Christmas plot to bomb a US airliner that had departed from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

The group will meet with officials from airports and US embassies to gather information ahead of a Congressional hearing on the case at the end of this month. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national allegedly trained in Yemen, had concealed explosives in his underwear to set them off during the flight to Detroit. He has been charged with attempted murder and trying to use weapons of mass destruction.

Muslims outside the U.S Courthouse in Detroit (Photo: flickr/cldodds)