[Evoncalabbalo]

LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,5847748.story

President Obama declared Friday that authorities had uncovered a "credible terrorist threat" against the United States after the overseas discovery of explosives in at least two U.S.-bound packages aboard cargo jets.

Discovery of the packages, addressed to Jewish organizations in Chicago, triggered a worldwide alert amid fears that Al Qaeda was attempting to carry out terrorist attacks. Authorities searched cargo planes and trucks in Philadelphia, New York and Newark, N.J., and were examining other packages addressed to the U.S. from Yemen, where the two containing explosives originated. More suspicious packages were discovered on UPS planes at the Philadelphia and Newark airports, the carrier said.

The events "underscore the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism," Obama said at a briefing Friday afternoon. He did not explicitly blame Al Qaeda but, referring to a Yemen-based branch of the terrorist network, said, "We also know that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula continues to plan attacks against our homeland, our citizens, and our friends and allies."

The president said the packages were addressed to "two places of Jewish worship in Chicago."

John Brennan, the deputy national security advisor for homeland security and counterterrorism, said authorities had identified the two packages containing explosive materials, which were isolated and "made inert." Brennan said authorities had been on the alert for a potential plot, but declined to elaborate on how they learned of it.

Suspicious packages were first found on cargo flights that landed in Britain and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday night, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed Friday.