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Terror alert: suspicious devices 'dry run' for terror campaign against US synagogues

A series of suspicious packages found in Britain and Dubai could have been part of a “dry run” by al-Qaeda for a mail bomb plot in the United States, authorities believe.

By Andrew Hough, and Peter Hutchison
Published: 7:11PM BST 29 Oct 2010



Image of the toner cartridge with wires hang out of it that police have been checking Photo: UNIVERSAL




Image of the toner cartridge with wires hang out of it that police have been checking Photo: UNIVERSAL




Police load a parcel that has been removed from a UPS Container at East Midlands airport onto a police helicopter this afternoon Photo: PAGE ONE




A forensic officer walks towards a UPS container as a Ryanair jet taxis on the tarmac at East Midlands Airport Photo: REUTERS




A forensic officer removes a package from a UPS container at East Midlands Airport Photo: AP




A United Parcel Service jet is surrounded by emergency services on a runway at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia Photo: AP




A United Parcel Service jet is seen isolated on a runway at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia Photo: AP




A United Parcel Service jet is seen isolated on a runway at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia Photo: BBC




US authorities are searcing cargo planes at Philadelphia (above) and Newark Photo: BBC

The packages were found on an American-registered cargo plane at East Midlands airport in England, en route from Yemen to Chicago, via Cologne in Germany, and on aircraft in Dubai which had also come from Yemen. It was claimed the devices were destined for synagogues in Chicago.

Jewish organisations and synagogues in Britain said they were already on high alert. Scotland Yard said the package found in Britain was removed for further testing. It was claimed it contained a toner cartridge for a printer, covered in white powder and with wires protruding from it.

It was found at East Midlands, one of Britain's biggest cargo hubs, during screening of cargo at the airport. It was claimed that security sources in the Middle East had tipped off the intelligence services about packages emanating from Yemen, now regarded as one of the hot-beds of al-Qaeda terrorist activities.

"We know that these packages originated in Yemen and we are looking into potential links to terrorism," said one U.S. official. As a result of the terror alert, the US Department of Homeland Security increased aviation security measures. Fedex, the world’s largest cargo airline, confirmed that the suspicious package seized at its Dubai facility originated in Yemen. It had stopped all shipments, originating from Yemen, a spokesman added.

Officials were also investigating reports of several packages on aircraft in the eastern United States cities of Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey although nothing had yet been found. The FBI said it did not believe an attack was imminent, a spokesman said. Barack Obama, the US President, was told late on Thursday night of a "potential terrorist threat" surrounding suspicious packages on the aircraft, the White House said.

"Intelligence and law enforcement agencies discovered potential suspicious packages on two planes in transit to the United States," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "Authorities were able to identify and examine two suspicious packages, one in East Midlands and one in Dubai. Both of these packages originated from Yemen."

Mr Gibbs said that, as a precaution, extra security measures were taken regarding other cargo planes at Newark and Philadelphia international airports in the United States. "The President was notified of a potential terrorist threat on Thursday night at 10:35, by John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism," he said.

The US Department of Homeland Security urged people to be vigilant in light of the alert. "As a precaution, DHS has taken a number of steps to enhance security. Some of these security measures will be visible while others will not,” a spokesman said. "The public may recognise specific enhancements including heightened cargo screening and additional security at airports.

"Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams and pat downs, among others.” He added: "As always, we remind the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to local law enforcement." Earlier, parts of East Midlands airport were sealed off following the discovery of the suspicious package with the security cordon lifted late on Friday.

Several aircraft, including a United Parcel Service (UPS) jet in Philadelphia, were moved to a remote location so law enforcement officials could investigate. An employee who worked in one of the buildings at East Midlands Airport praised the police operation. He said: "I work in one of the buildings. Nothing has been confirmed.

"Apparently a bomb was found about 10am after the first one from early hours was deemed safe. "DHL, Royal Mail and UPS were evacuated straight away to the Travelodge. Other buildings where evacuated after 1pm. "The police are doing a brilliant job of keeping everybody safe. No-one is allowed down the roads." A Scotland Yard spokesman said that the packages were seized for further testing.

“Cargo removed from the plane was examined,” a Scotland Yard spokesman said. “Further tests were carried out. Following this a number of items have been sent for additional scientific examination. “(We) can confirm that explosives officers attended the airport. At this stage there is nothing to suggest that any location was being targeted in the UK.”

A BAA spokesman said: "There are no problems at any of our airports." BAA runs Stansted, Southampton, Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago said: "We were notified this morning that synagogues should be on alert and we are taking appropriate precautions and are advising local synagogues to do likewise."

A spokesman for the Community Security Trust (CST), which deals with security in Jewish buildings, said: "The Jewish community in Britain has been on a high state of security alert for some considerable time now, precisely because of the current threat levels. "This specific alert today, plus the recent alerts over the last month or so is the reason why we've been on significant security alert for some while." The CST is in constant contact with local police about security threats, he added.

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Yemen arrests suspect as parcels confirmed as bombs

By Mohamed Sudam
SANAA | Sun Oct 31, 2010 6:54am EDT

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni forces on Saturday arrested a woman believed to be involved in sending explosive packages bound for the United States that triggered a global security alert, Yemeni security officials said. The arrest was the first in the case, in which two air freight packages containing bombs -- both sent from Yemen and addressed to synagogues in Chicago -- were intercepted in Britain and Dubai.

The officials said the woman had been traced through a telephone number she had left with a cargo company. They told Reuters she was a medical student at Sanaa University and believed to be in her 20s. She was arrested in a poor neighborhood in the west of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The women's lawyer said her mother had also been detained, but was not a prime suspect. Britain said the device found on a cargo plane at its East Midlands airport was big enough to down an aircraft.

"We believe the device was designed to go off on the aeroplane. We cannot be sure about the timing when that was meant to take place," Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters at Chequers, his country residence outside London. "In the end these terrorists think that our interconnectedness, our openness as modern countries is what makes us weak," he said. "They are wrong -- it is a source of our strength, and we will use that strength, that determination, that power and that solidarity to defeat them."

HALLMARKS OF AL QAEDA

Dubai had said on Friday that it had found a viable bomb. Officials say the bombs bear the hallmarks of al Qaeda's Yemeni branch, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). At least one bomb included PETN, the explosive used in a failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day last year. The White House said Saudi Arabia had helped to identify the threat, and President Barack Obama thanked Saudi King Abdullah for the "critical role" his country had played.

Saudi Arabia has come under huge international pressure to take on al Qaeda since it was found to be the home of most of the attackers who struck the United States on September 11, 2001, killing 3,000 people. The United States has focused increasingly on Yemen since last year's failed Christmas Day bombing, which AQAP claimed. An official in Washington called Saturday's arrest "a demonstration that Yemen is taking this seriously and cooperation is strong and ongoing."

There was a heavy police presence on the streets of Sanaa on Saturday night, with checkpoints throughout the city and on the road to the airport, as police hunted accomplices. The White House said Obama's counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, had told Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh that Washington "stands ready" to aid his government. Saleh said his country was "determined to continue fighting terrorism and al Qaeda in cooperation with its partners," but warned Washington against taking matters into its own hands.

"We do not want anyone to interfere in Yemeni affairs by hunting down al Qaeda," he said in a brief appearance before journalists, who were not given an opportunity to ask questions. Saleh said Yemen would like better intelligence cooperation with the U.S., British and Saudi governments.

DRONE ATTACKS

U.S. drone aircraft are widely believed to be behind strikes against al Qaeda targets in Yemen, much as they are in Pakistan, although Washington does not acknowledge them. Yemeni officials worry an overt U.S. military presence could attract a backlash. U.S. officials say Obama has given the CIA the green light to hunt and kill al Qaeda figures believed to be in Yemen, such as U.S.-born AQAP propaganda chief Anwar al-Awlaki.

In Washington, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said authorities were checking whether other packages had been sent before the two that were intercepted. "We're doing some reverse engineering, as it were, to identify other packages from Yemen," she said on NBC News. The Yemeni suspect's lawyer, Abdel Rahman Burman, said he feared she had been unwittingly used by others.

"Her acquaintances tell me that she is a quiet student and there was no knowledge of her having involvement in any religious or political groups," he told Reuters. "I'm concerned the girl is a victim, because it doesn't make sense that the person who would do this kind of operation would leave a picture of their ID and their phone number." One of the packages was found on a United Parcel Service cargo plane at East Midlands Airport, north of London.

The other bomb was discovered hidden in a computer printer cartridge in a parcel at a FedEx Corp facility in Dubai. That package was brought in on a Qatar Airways plane that stopped over in the Qatari capital Doha, the airline confirmed. UPS and FedEx, the world's largest cargo airline, halted shipments from Yemen. On Saturday, Yemen shut down both companies' operations there, citing security concerns. Britain halted all air freight from Yemen.

(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft, Stefano Ambrogi and Mohammed Abbas in London; Jeremy Pelofsky and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Raissa Kasolowsky, Mahmoud Habboush, Amran Abocar, Erika Solomon and Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa and Dubai; Writing and editing by Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey)