Terror plot thwarted as US-bound explosives seized

[Dimmauk]

Terror plot thwarted as US-bound explosives seized
AP/Matt Rourke
Cargo from an United Parcel Service jet is set out for inspection in Philadelphia. More photos »
AP

By EILEEN SULLIVAN and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Eileen Sullivan And Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press – 22 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Authorities on three continents thwarted multiple terrorist attacks aimed at the United States from Yemen on Friday, seizing two explosive packages addressed to Chicago-area synagogues and packed aboard cargo jets. The plot triggered worldwide fears that al-Qaida was launching a major new terror campaign.

President Barack Obama called the coordinated attacks a "credible terrorist threat," and U.S. officials said they were increasingly confident that al-Qaida's Yemen branch, the group responsible for the failed Detroit airliner bombing last Christmas, was responsible.

Parts of the plot might remain undetected, Obama's counterterror chief warned. "The United States is not assuming that the attacks were disrupted and is remaining vigilant," John Brennan said at the White House.

One of the packages was found aboard a cargo plane in Dubai, the other in England. Preliminary tests indicated the packages contained the powerful industrial explosive PETN, the same chemical used in the Christmas attack, U.S. officials said. The tests had not been confirmed.

In the U.S., cargo planes were searched up and down the Eastern Seaboard, and an Emirates Airlines passenger jet was escorted down the coast to New York by American fighter jets.

No explosives were found aboard those planes, though the investigation was continuing on at least two.

Obama's sobering assessment, delivered from the White House podium, unfolded four days before national elections in which discussion of terrorism has played almost no role. The president went ahead with weekend campaign appearances.

The terrorist efforts "underscore the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism," the president said. While he said both packages that contained explosives originated in Yemen, he did not explicitly assign blame to al-Qaida, which is active in the Arab nation and long has made clear its goal of launching new attacks on the United States.

Authorities in Dubai intercepted one explosive device. The second package was aboard a plane searched in East Midlands, north of London, and officials said it contained a printer toner cartridge with wires and powder. Brennan said the devices were in packages about the size of a breadbox.

While Obama didn't specifically accuse Yemen's al-Qaida branch, Brennan called it the most active al-Qaida franchise and said anyone associated with the group was a subject of concern.

The radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who now is in hiding in Yemen, is believed to have helped inspire recent attacks including the Fort Hood shooting, the Times Square bombing attempt and the failed Detroit airliner bombing last Christmas Day. Another American hiding in Yemen, Samir Khan, has declared himself a traitor and has helped produce al-Qaida propaganda.

Most of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the ongoing investigation.

Brennan later told reporters that the explosives "were in a form that was designed to try to carry out some type of attack," but he provided no further details.

"The forensic analysis is under way," he said, adding, "Clearly from the initial observation, the initial analysis that was done, the materials that were found in the device that was uncovered was intended to do harm."

Intelligence personnel had been monitoring a suspected plot for days, officials said. The packages in England and Dubai were discovered after a Saudi Arabian intelligence picked up information related to Yemen and passed it on to the U.S., one official said.

U.S. intelligence officials warned last month that terrorists hoped to mail chemical and biological materials as part of an attack on America and other Western countries using the mail. The alert came in a Sept. 23 bulletin from the Homeland Security Department and obtained by The Associated Press.

In the hours following the discoveries, Yemeni officials and Scotland Yard were investigating and the U.S. issued a 72-hour ban on all cargo from Yemen.

"As a precaution, DHS has taken a number of steps to enhance security," the agency said in a statement. "Some of these security measures will be visible while others will not."

U.S. authorities conducted searches of aircraft in Philadelphia, Newark, N.J., and New York City.

Since the failed Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner, Yemen has been a focus for U.S. counterterrorism officials. Before that attack, the U.S. regarded al-Qaida's branch in Yemen as primarily a threat in the region, not to the United States.

The Yemen branch known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has since become a leading source of terrorist propaganda and recruiting. Authorities believe about 300 al-Qaida members or cells operate in Yemen.

The Yemeni government has stepped up counterterrorism operations, with help from the U.S. military and intelligence officials. Mohammed Shayba, general-director of the state airline's cargo department, said the government is conducting an investigation.

"Those in charge are in constant meetings and they are investigating and taking the issue seriously," he told The Associated Press.

Scary stuff. Why would they want to attack and blow up Jewish buildings?

[Jeryhn]

Scary stuff. Why would they want to attack and blow up Jewish buildings?

Could it have something to do with the fact that Jews (Israel) blow up homes like everyday?

[Kuya]

Why would they want to attack and blow up Jewish buildings?

lol

[Jonny]

Could it have something to do with the fact that Jews (Israel) blow up homes like everyday?

building homes in a war zone ect...

[Boyiee]

Scary stuff. Why would they want to attack and blow up Jewish buildings?

Uh... who wouldn't?

[Jonny]

well now all the fucking news is now.

synagogue's on ALERT!!!!!

AMERICA THWARTED ATTACK!!!

[Rhinox]

Sweet!

Now is our time to shine! no one overreacts as a country more then we do.

[Demosthenes11]

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but the timing of this is just too good

[Olo401]

Ohi October surprise..

[Demosthenes11]

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but the timing of this is just too good

guartz, i fucking see you in this tread. disappoint me not.

[Edimir]

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but the timing of this is just too good

That's the general consensus over here in the UK, especially when this happened just days after this .....

Minister may allow changes to UK air security checks - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11638825

The transport secretary has signalled his willingness to change the regulations on security checks at British airports.

Philip Hammond was responding to senior figures in the airline industry who had backed BA chairman Martin Broughton's attack on measures imposed by the US.

Mr Broughton said many of the checks were "completely redundant".

Mr Hammond said he would be allowing airlines to look at ways of "easing the passenger experience".

Mr Broughton had criticised the US for imposing increased checks on US-bound flights but not on its own domestic services, saying the UK should stop "kowtowing" to US security demands.

He said practices such as forcing passengers to take off their shoes should be abandoned, and questioned why laptop computers needed to be screened separately.

Responding to the BA chairman's comments, former head of policy at the US Department of Homeland Security, Stewart Baker, said practices such as taking shoes off and limiting the amount of liquids taken on board were in place on domestic flights in the US.

However Chris Yates, air security analyst at Jane's Information Group, said while a lot of measures were in place they were not applied consistently in all US airports.

Mr Baker said Mr Broughton was inferring that the UK was a 'US poodle', but that this was not the case.

"It does sound as though he was kind of venting, rather than engaged in a careful analysis. I've sort of learned that when Brits play the 'poodle card', it's more emotional than rational and it sounded like he was playing the poodle card."

Mr Hammond responded to the row by saying the government would give airport operators permission, through changing the regulations, to look at the way they carry out security procedures.

"[They can] do them differently if they believe that that can reduce the queuing and ease the passenger experience," he said.

But he said he could not order the US to relax restrictions on passengers travelling to the states.

He added: "I have to defend the right of every country to define the security requirements that it places on flights entering its airspace."

BAA, which operates six British airports including Heathrow and Glasgow, was supportive of Mr Broughton's comments.

Its chief executive, Colin Matthews, said passenger safety was paramount but admitted security checks could be better organised.

He said: "We could do a better job if we could redesign it with the end in mind and have a single coherent process.

"It would be much better, too, if passengers weren't confused by having different arrangements at both ends of the journey."

Earlier Mike Carrivick, of BAR UK, which represents more than 80 airlines, said the industry should "step back and have a look at the whole situation".

He added: "Every time there is a new security scare, an extra layer is added on to procedures.

"We need to step back and have a look at the whole situation. Standards change fairly regularly and this puts pressure on airports and airlines. We need to decide what we are trying to do and how best to do it."

The US stepped up security in January in the wake of an alleged bomb plot.

It introduced tougher screening rules, including body pat-down searches and carry-on baggage checks, for passengers arriving from 14 nations which the authorities deem to be a security risk.

Passengers from any foreign country may also be checked at random.

[person2007]

This is the second time they have mysteriously found bombs or the tools to make bombs before something important. Last time it was "We are thinking of implementing X-ray scanners because there could be people placing bombs on planes!" And surprise surprise a day later there's the Detroit bomber, giving them reason to implement them.

[Saga]

Could it have something to do with the fact that Jews (Israel) blow up homes like everyday?

jeez yeah it's all Israel blowing up shit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sderot

[Xno Kappa]

Why won't people just leave the Jews alone!

[Dimmauk]

jeez yeah it's all Israel blowing up shit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sderot

Yup, its all the Jews fault

[Rhinox]

jeez yeah it's all Israel blowing up shit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sderot

lol

[Rhinox]

The fact that zionists scream and cry about Rocket attacks while bulldozing Palestinian homes is actually pretty funny.

[Headspace]

Obamanation.

[Riposte]

This can only really end in pro-Israeli/Zion propaganda.

[Vajra]

There's still 13 bomb packages out there somewhere. Of course the FBI won't tell anyone at the exact moment their found if they can be detonated with cellphones...They'll tell everyone that they found them once they're found and disarmed or self-detonated. They showed a video on CNN of how powerful they are, and the bombs are just as powerful as IEDs; big range...