British Broadcasting Corporation
UK cargo plane device was bomb - British Government
The circuit board on the printer found inside the package intercepted in Dubai
The printer found in Dubai had a circuit board linked to a mobile phone card
UK Home Secretary Theresa May has confirmed that a device found in a package
sent from Yemen and found on a US-bound cargo plane could have exploded on
board the jet.
The device, intercepted at East Midlands Airport, was viable and could have
exploded on board, she said.
Dubai police earlier confirmed that a second device, also on a US-bound cargo
plane, contained explosives.
Continue reading the main story
Cargo Bomb Plot
* In pictures: Plane bomb plot
* How the story broke
* Plot shows bombers' ambition
* Q&A: Cargo plane bomb plot
Washington suspects the devices were part of an al-Qaeda plot.
They were apparently both inserted in printer cartridges and placed in packages
addressed to synagogues in the Chicago area.
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) - an explosive favoured by the Yemeni-based
group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - was discovered in the Dubai
device.
The packages were found on UPS and FedEx cargo planes, triggering alerts in the
US, UK and Middle East.
The Yemeni authorities have closed down the local offices of the two US
companies, who have already suspended all shipments out of the country and
pledged full co-operation with investigators.
France has also suspended all cargo flights out of Yemen.
Yemeni police are reportedly examining 26 other suspect parcels.
US President Barack Obama discussed the apparent terrorist plot with UK Prime
Minister David Cameron by phone on Saturday, expressing his "appreciation for
the professionalism of American and British services involved" in disrupting
it, the White House said.
Mr Obama's national security adviser, John Brennan, phoned Yemeni President Ali
Abdallah Saleh to offer US help in fighting al-Qaeda, the White House added.
'Professional manner'
Mrs May was speaking after a meeting of the UK's emergency committee, Cobra.
Continue reading the main story
What is PETN?
* Powerful plastic explosive, a key component of Semtex
* Colourless and difficult to detect
* Used in several attacks linked to al-Qaeda, including:
* December 2001: "shoe bomber" Richard Reid tries to blow up a Miami-bound
plane
* August 2009: assassination attempt against Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef
* December 2009: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab arrested on suspicion of trying
to blow up plane to Detroit with PETN in his underpants
* Q&A: Cargo plane bomb plot
"The target may have been an aircraft and, had it detonated, the aircraft could
have been brought down," she said.
"We do not believe that the perpetrators of the attack would have known the
location of the device when it was planned to explode," she added.
While details of the device found in Britain were not released, photographs
emerged on the US media of an ink toner cartridge covered in white powder and
connected to a circuit board, which was said to have been found at East
Midlands Airport.
Mrs May's remarks suggest the authorities in both Britain and the US remain
uncertain about the precise targets and, indeed, aim of this latest apparent
plot, BBC defence and security correspondent Nick Childs reports.
More broadly, though, it is a reminder of the efforts of al-Qaeda and its
affiliates to try to adapt to defeat security measures, and the pressures on
Western intelligence and security agencies to be responsive to emerging new
threats, our correspondent says.
According to Dubai police, the explosives they found were also inside the toner
cartridge of a printer, placed in a cardboard box containing English-language
books and souvenirs.
The cartridge contained PETN and plastic explosives mixed with lead azide, they
said. Lead azide is an explosive commonly used in detonators.
Parcels stacked outside Sanaa airport, 30 October Parcels could be seen stacked
outside Sanaa airport on Saturday
"The device was prepared in a professional manner and equipped with an
electrical circuit linked to a mobile telephone [Sim] card concealed in the
printer," the police said.
US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she suspected al-Qaeda
involvement.
"I think we would agree with that, that it does contain all the hallmarks of
al-Qaeda and in particular [AQAP]," she told ABC News.
Heavily armed security patrols are on the streets of the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
'Saudi tip-off'
Speaking at a White House press conference late on Friday, President Obama said
new aviation security measures were being taken "including additional
screening".
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Home Secretary Theresa May: ''The device was viable and could have exploded''
The White House said Saudi Arabia had provided information that helped identify
the threat, while the UK's Daily Telegraph reported that an MI6 officer
responsible for Yemen had received a tip-off.
US security services remain on a high level of vigilance in the wake of the
attempted Times Square bombing in New York in May and the attempted Christmas
Day attack.
How the alerts were raised (all times GMT):
map
Early hours of Friday morning: alert raised at East Midlands airport after
suspect package found on UPS plane. Security cordon put in place, then lifted.
0900: suspect package found on FedEx plane in Dubai.
1300: security cordon reinstated at East Midlands airport, apparently after a
second suspect device is found.
1700: FBI says two suspect packages were addressed to religious buildings in
Chicago.
1835: Emirates Flight 201 from Yemen via Dubai lands at JFK airport, New
York, escorted by US fighter jets. The plane is carrying a package from Yemen.
1845: FedEx in Dubai confirms it has confiscated a suspect package sent from
Yemen and is suspending all shipments from Dubai.
1900: two other FedEx flights investigated after landing at Newark, New
Jersey, and Philadelphia. Both receive the all-clear.
2330: BA flight from London to New York (JFK) met by US officials as a
"precautionary measure".
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