Report: Al-Qaida Bomb Plot Against Jet Thwarted
The CIA foiled an elaborate new underwear bomb plot by an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen that was intended to bring down a U.S.-bound airliner, The Associated Press reported Monday.
The CIA foiled an elaborate new underwear bomb plot by an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen that was intended to bring down a U.S.-bound airliner, The Associated Press reported Monday. The strike was reportedly planned to take place around the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death.
AP via The Huffington Post:
The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger’s underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said.
The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said. They said the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.
The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or bought his plane tickets when the CIA stepped in and seized the bomb, officials said. It’s not immediately clear what happened to the alleged bomber.
News that the bomb plot was thwarted closely follows the announcement that a senior al-Qaida leader, Fahd al-Quso, was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen on Sunday. –TEB
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.