Terror Group Al-Shabab Suspected in Somalia Plane Blast

Officials in Somalia say they have so far found no evidence of a criminal act in an explosion aboard an airliner that killed one person.

The explosion occurred at 11,000 feet soon after takeoff from Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Cellphone video from passengers showed a hole in the side of the plane's cabin.

Awale Kullane, Somalia's deputy ambassador to the  United Nations,  was aboard the plane when the blast occurred.

"We saw a hole in the plane and the first thing you worry about is can we really make it?" he said.

The explosive force and rapid depressurization sucked a passenger in the window seat out of the aircraft.  The body of an older man was found on the ground, some 18 miles from the airport. Two other passengers were injured.

"I think for the first few seconds and minutes I was terrified and most people were terrified,  and of course people responded differently to that kind of shock," Kullane recalled.

The Airbus A321, headed to Djibouti, was forced to land minutes after taking off. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but Somalia is home to the Muslim terrorist group al-Shabab, which has carried out many deadly attacks across the nation. And some U.S. government experts believe the group - which is affiliated with al Qaeda - was behind the explosion.

Counterterrorism officials are now concerned that al-Shabab has stepped up its game, and has figured out a way to get bombs onto airliners.

Somali officials say foreign technical experts have been called in to try to figure out what happened on the plane.